LSAT 115 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: A gift is not generous unless it is intended to…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle

ANALYSIS: We have two circumstances:

First Statement: Generous ➞ intended to benefit AND more than is customary

Contrapositive: Not more than is customary OR not intended to benefit receiver ➞ Not generous

Second Statement: Intended to Benefit Giver OR less than is customary ➞ Selfish

Contrapositive: Not Selfish ➞ Not intended to benefit the giver AND at least as much as is customary

Note that we can never conclude “Generous” or “Not selfish”, since they are sufficient conditions. We can only conclude the necessary conditions, so one of those will be the answer.

___________

1. He paid nothing for them, but the tickets were worth a lot. Charles could have sold them. We can only conclude Charles’ action was selfish if he gave less than is customary or gave the gift to benefit himself.
2. Unintentionally hurting the recipient does not make a gift selfish.
3. A self interested gift is selfish, not generous. In any case, the wine is not more than customary, because Amanda gives it every year.
4. CORRECT. Since the gift is exactly the customary value, the gift is not generous.
5. A gift only has to be intended to benefit the recipient.

Recap: The question begins with “A gift is not generous unless it is intended to”. It is a Principle question. Learn how to master LSAT Principle questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.