LSAT 106 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q23

LR Question 23 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Further evidence of a connection between brain…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken – Exception

CONCLUSION: Your frontal lobe affects your overall personality.

REASONING: If you’re depressed, you have more right frontal lobe activity. If you’re happy, you have more left frontal lobe activity.

ANALYSIS: This argument is very weak. There are many, many different types of personality. This argument tells us about two. Even if the frontal lobes control depression or good humor, they may not control your entire personality.

Further, the argument hasn’t shown that frontal lobes do control depression. It’s only shown that there’s a correlation between frontal lobe activity and depression. There may be other causes.

In fact, frontal lobes may not even be a cause. We’ve only seen a correlation. Some other factor could cause both depression and frontal lobe activity.

Despite the scientific language, this is an awful argument.

___________

1. CORRECT. This strengthens the argument. It shows there probably is a connection between left lobe activity and depression.
2. This shows that depression causes reduced less lobe activity, by preventing you from sleeping.
3. This shows that your frontal lobes never change, even if your personality does. So frontal lobe activity can’t be the cause of personality changes.
4. This shows that frontal lobe activity and our disposition are just the effects of changes in another part of the brain.
5. This shows that social activity causes left lobe activity. Left lobe activity is the consequence and not the cause of good spirits.