LSAT 4, Logical Reasoning II, Q15, LSATHacks

LR Question 15 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: People who take what others regard as a ridiculous position…

QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: People who take what others view as a ridiculous position should not say “I mean every word!”

REASONING: The result will be bad whether the position actually is ridiculous or whether it isn’t.

ANALYSIS: This isn’t a bad argument in terms of logical structure. We shouldn’t do a certain thing because the result will be bad in either case. One important element is the possibility that the person is correct.

Psychologically, its bad advice. We can often convince someone to take us seriously if we say “I mean every word” or something similar.

___________

1. CORRECT. This is it. Saying “we have always done it” is a bad idea if the practice is poor and not convincing if the practice is good. It is possible the practice is correct. Psychologically, it can be a useful thing to say, to shut down the discussion if explanation would take too long.
2. Here we don’t have the same split between the possibility that the food is a good thing to eat and the possibility that it isn’t.
3. This is a sensible argument, but it is about a different issue. It is reminding us to respond to the issue at hand.
4. This is a good argument, but it has a totally different structure. It simply recommends patient work. In the stimulus the recommendation depended on whether the idea was good or bad.
5. This has a different structure. It does not address the issue of whether or not the goals are in fact overly ambitious.

Recap: The question begins with “People who take what others regard as a ridiculous position”. It is a Parallel Reasoning question. Learn how to master LSAT Parallel questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.

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