LSAT 145 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q9

LR Question 9 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Columnist: Video games are not works of art. No matter…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Video games aren’t art

REASONING:

1. Games are interactive.
2. Art ➞ artist controls aesthetic
3. Contrapositive: artist control aesthetic ➞ art

ANALYSIS: On sufficient assumption questions, you need to connect the evidence to the conclusion. Draw the conclusion, and draw the evidence in such a way that it points in the direction of the conclusion (i.e. “not art”), then look for the gap.

Interactive            artist control aesthetic ➞ art

To fill the gap, we have to show that if something is interactive, then that means the artist isn’t in control of the aesthetic experience.

___________

1. Intent is irrelevant. This question is about what is art, not whether something is intended to be art.
2. CORRECT. This fills the gap above. We know games are interactive. This answer shows that therefore the artists don’t control the game. And the argument said that no control = not art.
3. The author is trying to prove that video games are not art. This answer doesn’t help, because video games do provide a rich aesthetic experience.
4. How could this matter? The argument didn’t say creators and players need to be different people.
5. This answer just grabs a couple of random terms from the argument and throws them together. I don’t even know why someone would combine these words.
   Example of answer: If you run a video game character into the wall, repeatedly, and this doesn’t affect the game’s outcome, then your actions do not make the game beautiful or ugly.