PrepTest 134, Section 3, Question 14
Newspaper subscriber: Arnot's editorial argues that by making(47 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- Ait repudiates a(14 more words not shown)
- Bit treats a(25 more words not shown)
- Cit fails to(22 more words not shown)
- Dit distorts the(8 more words not shown)
- Eit uses the(16 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A bad argument can have a true conclusion.
Suppose I say, “Two plus two equals four because bananas exist.” My reason does nothing to support my conclusion. But pointing that out doesn't make two plus two stop equaling four. We need to distinguish finding a problem with the support from establishing that the claim itself is false.
The subscriber doesn't make that distinction. Arnot predicts that certain government reforms would virtually eliminate major social problems. The subscriber questions Arnot's reliance on the government's acting in the public interest, then declares the conclusion false.
There's another question worth asking: what are Arnot's proposed reforms? Perhaps greater transparency or accountability would address the very concern the subscriber raises. We haven't been told enough to rule that out.
What we’re looking for
For the flaw question, though, the central mistake is broader. Even if Arnot has relied on a questionable assumption, that only gives us a reason to doubt the argument. It doesn't establish that the predicted result couldn't happen.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Repudiates means rejects. The subscriber rejects Arnot's claim because its support is inadequate, treating that as enough to establish falsity.
Imagine I predict a ten-minute trip to the store but forget to consider the weather. You can fairly question my planning. Yet if the weather causes no delay, the trip could still take ten minutes. My failure to consider something doesn't prove the prediction wrong. Likewise, the subscriber needs more than a weakness in Arnot's reasoning to establish that Arnot's conclusion is false.
- B
This would mistake a required change for a change that guarantees success. The subscriber never starts with a requirement and makes that move. Instead, the subscriber attacks an assumption in Arnot's argument and uses that attack to reject Arnot's conclusion.
- C
Read the direction carefully. This says a false conclusion can rest on some true assumptions. Our problem runs the other way: questionable support can accompany a true conclusion. The subscriber starts by attacking the support, not by establishing a false conclusion and then declaring every assumption false.
- D
We aren't shown that the subscriber has distorted Arnot's argument. Perhaps the account of Arnot's assumption is accurate. The criticism would still be flawed because accurately identifying weak support doesn't establish that the conclusion is false. We don't need to invent a misrepresentation to explain the mistake.
- E
Government has the same ordinary meaning throughout: the institutions or people governing society. The passage doesn't shift, for example, from a national government to a school's student government. A change in meaning could create a flaw, but no such change is present here.
More Flaw questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Flaw questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.