LSAT 109 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Critic: Some writers have questioned Stalin’s sanity…

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: The critics say that Stalin became insane in his final years, because he was cruel and secretive.

The critic points out that Stalin was always cruel and secretive. Dictators must be both of those things, or else they will lose power.

ANALYSIS: I don’t like either argument. It’s possible that Stalin was cruel because he was a dictator, and also because he was insane.

Maybe the critic is right that all dictators must be cruel and secretive to survive. But that doesn’t mean dictators aren’t insane. Maybe you just have to be insane to be cruel enough to survive as a dictator.

The two of them disagree on what caused Stalin’s cruelty.

___________

1. Neither the critic nor the writers say that Stalin wasn’t guilty of cruelty.
2. Only the critic mentions “cruel misdeeds”. And the writers don’t say why they call Stalin morbidly suspicious.
3. The critic doesn’t seem to think Stalin was insane.
4. The writers only talked about Stalin. We don’t know what they thought of other tyrants.
5. CORRECT. The writers think Stalin was insane in his final years, and this caused him to do bad things. The critic points out that Stalin always did bad things. It was his political position (tyrant) that forced him to be bad. Otherwise he would have lost power.

Recap: The question begins with “Critic: Some writers have questioned Stalin’s sanity”. It is a Point at Issue question. Learn more about LSAT Point at Issue questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.