LSAT 153 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q17

LR Question 17 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Critic: Vampires have traditionally been symbols of pure evil…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: The trend of humanizing vampires is unfortunate.

REASONING: The overall trend in entertainment toward moral complexity is good, but it’s unfortunate that vampires are being humanized. Evil exists in the world, and vampires are one of the most powerful symbols of that.

ANALYSIS: The author’s conclusion is that the trend of humanizing vampires is unfortunate. So why are they saying that the overall trend of moral complexity is good? Isn’t humanizing vampires making them more morally complex?

The key is the word “but” after the claim that the overall trend is good. In this argument, the statement actually acts as a sort of disclaimer. The author is saying “I do agree with the overall trend, but I find this specific instance unfortunate”. The author is telling us that their thoughts are specific to the humanization of vampires.

___________

1. This claim does not support the author’s conclusion. In fact, if all you knew was that the author liked moral complexity, you might assume that they would appreciate humanization of vampires.
2. CORRECT. The author is telling us that their conclusion is specifically about vampires.
3. If this were true, the author would have said something like “the overall trend is good, so that’s why the humanization of vampires is unfortunate”. It makes no sense.
4. The author never rejects this claim – in fact, the author endorses it by stating it.
5. The claim about the overall trend is not supported by the rest of the passage, so it is not the conclusion.

Recap: The question begins with “Critic: Vampires have traditionally been symbols of pure evil”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn how to master LSAT Role questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.