LSAT 116 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q1

LR Question 1 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The development of new inventions is promoted by the granting…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: Without patents, no one would invent anything.

REASONING: The argument makes a decent case that a lack of patents would reduce innovation, as the financial incentive to innovate would disappear. Yet the conclusion is far too strong: it states that no one will invent anything new if patents are eliminated.

ANALYSIS: The argument is assuming that there are no other reasons to invent new things, apart from money. No patents = no inventions.

Yet you have surely heard of people who invent things for other reasons: for fun, to help others, or to solve a problem in their own life.

To be correct, the argument must assume that these reasons do not exist, and that financial gain is the only reason someone might invent anything new. It is also necessary that patents provide some financial incentive, presently. Answers B, C, and E address this issue, but they aren’t complete enough to be necessary to the argument.

___________

1. CORRECT. If financial reward is not the only incentive, then people might invent for other reasons, and the argument collapses.
2. Even if a manufacturer makes more total profit from a patent, that still leaves some profit for the inventor. Profit which will disappear if patent rights are removed.
3. Insignificant can be very tiny. If the patent’s costs were 30% of the profit the patent would bring, it will often still be worth it to acquire a patent. The argument only requires that patents currently provide some financial incentive.
4. The argument did not specify how patents should be granted; the patent system doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to provide some financial incentive for inventors.
5. Proportional means that the amounts increase in proportion to each other. E.g., if an invention costs $100 to invent, it can be patented for a year. If an invention costs $1,000, it can be patented for 10 years, etc. Proportionality is rarely necessary to any argument (though it can be).

Recap: The question begins with “The development of new inventions is promoted by the granting”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Necessary questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.