LSAT 116 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q2

LR Question 2 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Essayist: Earth is a living organism, composed of other…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: The Earth is a living organism.

ANALYSIS: The stimulus makes an unconventional but plausible argument (it’s “the Gaia Hypothesis”), and seeks to back it up by raising a possible objection and then demolishing it.

It doesn’t prove the conclusion, but it’s a common argumentative technique.

___________

1. CORRECT. The argument raises an objection (“The Earth doesn’t breathe, so it can’t be an organism”), and then demolishes it with an analogy (“Insects don’t breathe, yet they are organisms”). This is “a reason for not rejecting Earth’s status as an organism.”
2. This is the opposite of the conclusion.
3. Insects are only mentioned in reference to breathing, not metabolism. Metabolism refers to energy.
4. The Earth and mosquitoes are unusual organisms because they don’t breathe. But that doesn’t mean their status is unclear.
5. The Earth is composed of organisms like mosquitoes, but that is not why they are mentioned. Truth is not sufficient for an answer to be correct.

Recap: The question begins with “Essayist: Earth is a living organism, composed of other”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn more about LSAT Role questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.