LSAT 78, Logical Reasoning II, Q13, LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Pollution is a problem wherever there are people who…

QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Indifference ➞ nature’s balance harmed

REASONING: Indifference ➞ pollution ➞ nature’s balance harmed

ANALYSIS: This is a good argument. It takes two conditional statements, joins them together, and draws a conclusion from the combined statement.

Note: on my own page I’d draw something like: I ➞ P ➞ NB. But I use full words in the explanations to avoid confusing people.

To parallel this argument, skim through the answers and look for one where the sufficient condition of a statement is on the left of the conclusion, and the necessary condition of the other statement is on the right. Once you’re down to the two most probable, draw them.

All but one of the answers have conditional statements, so this is the best way to filter. You can also draw everything, but it’s slower.

___________

1. CORRECT. This matches:
   Statements: chocolate ➞ calories ➞ fattening
   Conclusion: chocolate ➞ fattening
2. Both of these statements lead to the same necessary condition.
   Statements:
   chocolate ➞ calories
   fattening ➞ calories
3. Both of these statements start from the same sufficient condition.
   Statements:
   calories ➞ chocolate
   calories ➞ fattening
4. This is close, but it’s an incorrect reversal.
   Statements: chocolate ➞ calories ➞ fattening
   Conclusion: fattening ➞ chocolate
5. This has a “many” in it, so it doesn’t have two conditional statements. 

---