LSAT 149 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q13

LR Question 13 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Rhonda: As long as the cost is not too great…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Strengthen

ARGUMENTS: Rhonda says you should help people, because you’ll have a richer life.

Brad says you should help your friends and relatives, because they’ll be most likely to help you later.

ANALYSIS: Both Rhonda and Brad are selfish – they give to get. They both suggest helping others, but only because you’ll benefit from the help you gave.

We want to strengthen both arguments, so the right answer says we should do things that help ourselves.

___________

1. This doesn’t support Brad’s argument. He’s arguing we should only help a limited number of people: friends and family.
2. This is totally irrelevant to both arguments. It says, for example, that if you expect someone to be an asshole, then you should be mean to them.
   Rhonda never says you should be mean to anyone. You should help others.
   And Brad isn’t talking about how to treat everyone. He’s talking about who you should help.
3. CORRECT. This supports both arguments. Rhonda says you’ll have a richer life by helping others. Brad says that helping friends and family will gain you favors later. So both of them suggest helping yourself, ultimately.
4. This doesn’t support Rhonda. She doesn’t say why those who help others have richer lives. Maybe it’s just because altruism makes them feel good, even if no one returns their favors.
5. Neither author talks about taking pride in helping people. This is totally irrelevant.