LSAT 104 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q13

LR Question 13 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Historian: The ancient Greeks failed to recognize that…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Democracy is immoral.

REASONING: It’s wrong to give an individual supreme power. It’s therefore wrong to give society supreme power, because society is a group of individuals.

ANALYSIS: The argument forgets why it’s bad to give one person power: no one else has power. If the entire society has power, then it’s not a problem to give power to individuals.

Abstractly, the flaw is forgetting that there is a qualitative different between an individual and a group.

___________

1. This is a bad argument (maybe someone other than Robin’s friends could solve it), but it’s not the same flaw from the stimulus. The argument is saying that Robin’s friends couldn’t solve the problem individually.
2. This is a bad argument. We don’t know how long the season has been, or how many times Hank has raced. And maybe Hank is particularly skilled at relays. But the flaw is not the same context flaw from the stimulus.
3. This is circular reasoning. The conclusion and premise are the same (it’s wrong to give exemptions).
4. CORRECT. This argument forgets that groups are different from individuals. A group can put it’s money together and buy a tent, even if an individual can’t.
5. This is a decent argument. It is possible for everyone to be wrong together.

Recap: The question begins with “Historian: The ancient Greeks failed to recognize that”. It is a Flawed Parallel Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Flawed Parallel questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.