LSAT 143 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q20

RC Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Which one of the following, if true, would most…

DISCUSSION: The Kantian argument in the first paragraph of passage B is that if a rational actor treats others a certain way, we have the right to treat that actor the same way. Taking the first paragraph on its own, we may even have a duty to treat people as they do others. (See lines 38-41. The rest of passage B contradicts this argument, but this question is only talking about the first paragraph.)

Passage A is saying that in many cases we should not lie to a harmless pathological liar. So this seems incompatible with the argument in the first paragraph of passage B.

Except….passage B only applies to rational actors. So we could get around the incompatibility by saying that the pathological liar is not rational. Passage B doesn’t say how to treat irrational people.

This is almost like a logical reasoning question. This style of question has been appearing more frequently on reading comprehension.

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1. The Kantian argument never said whether our behavior should be rational. It only talks about how to treat a rational actor.
   Also this is very much like E. Both answers can’t be right.
2. CORRECT. If this is true, then the Kantian argument doesn’t apply to a pathological liar. The Kantian argument only applied to rational actors. See lines 28-32.
3. This answer tells us that the Kantian argument does apply, since the liar is rational. We therefore have the right to lie, according to the Kantian argument.
4. This was already included in the Kantian argument. It doesn’t match the excerpt from passage A, which says we may not have reason to lie to a liar.
5. The bit about low standards is just taking an irrelevant phrase from paragraph 1 of passage A (lines 3-4). Adding an irrelevant concept from the passage makes this answer feel familiar to your brain. Familiar things feel correct.
   This answer can’t help us reconcile the two arguments. “Low standards” has no logical link to passage B – that passage is talking about how to treat others, and doesn’t mention “standards”.