LSAT 63, Logical Reasoning II, Q10, LSATHacks

LR Question 10 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Editorial: Many critics of consumerism insist that a…

QUESTION TYPE: Identify The Conclusion

CONCLUSION: The accusation [that advertising turns people’s wants into perceived needs] rests on a fuzzy distinction.

REASONING: It’s not possible to know whether we really need something or whether we only want it.

ANALYSIS: This is an OK argument. It’s quite plausible that there is no way to distinguish wants and needs. It’s correct in pointing out that the critics’ argument needs more definition.

Words like “however” often indicate the conclusion. They always indicate the author’s opinion. She disagrees with the sentence before “however”. In this case, the final sentence supports her statement after “however”. 

___________

1. CORRECT. It’s a fuzzy distinction because it’s impossible to say what a need is and what a want is.
2. This is the claim that the stimulus argues against.
3. The argument doesn’t go this far. It just says that the argument used to attack advertising is flawed. The editorial might still believe that advertising is wrong, but for a different reason.
4. Not quite. The problem is that the critics don’t realize it’s sometimes hard to say what is essential to our happiness and what isn’t.
5. The editorial didn’t say that critics often use fuzzy distinctions. It just said they’re using one in this specific case.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

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