LSAT 103 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Insurance that was to become effective at 9 A.M. on a certain date…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: The insurance company should pay.

REASONING: His poor sick mother could use the money.

(The representative didn’t address the argument that the policy wasn’t active.)

ANALYSIS: The representative misses the point. If there was an insurance policy, then the company will pay. If there wasn’t a policy, then they won’t.

Sympathy won’t help. The representative has to prove that the policy was active.

___________

1. The representative doesn’t make a circular argument. He just misses the point.
2. CORRECT. The mother’s situation is sad. But if there was no active insurance policy, then the insurance company is just one among millions of institutions that aren’t bound to help the mother.
3. Actually, the representative doesn’t make a good distinction between business obligations and moral obligations. The insurance company doesn’t have to pay on a non-existent policy just because the beneficiary helped his mother.
4. There’s no ad hominem attack. To choose this answer, you must finish this sentence: The representative said that the insurance company was ________.
5. The representative doesn’t talk about causes or effects. He’s making an emotional argument.

Recap: The question begins with “Insurance that was to become effective at 9 AM on a certain date”. It is a Flawed Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Flaw questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.