PrepTest 156, Section 3, Question 8
Passage A is adapted from a book review(497 more words not shown)
Passage A(12 more words not shown)
Passage B(493 more words not shown)
In the first sentence of(22 more words not shown)
- Apresent a counterexample(2 more words not shown)
- Bintroduce the author's(9 more words not shown)
- Cstate the author's(7 more words not shown)
- Dridicule a view(4 more words not shown)
- Econvey the results(6 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
How convenient: the powers disappear just when researchers try to test them. That is the sarcastic force of “mysteriously disappear.” B is making Dyson's explanation sound implausible, not accepting that the powers were present and then vanished.
Working the answers
- A
This is not a case that disproves reductionism. B is criticizing the paranormal claim, not offering evidence against the view that knowledge can be reduced to science.
- B
The phrase does not introduce a general account of science's role in all human understanding. It targets the proposed reason paranormal powers fail to appear in tests.
- C
B's main disagreement is whether paranormal phenomena can exist. This phrase doesn't directly state that conclusion; it makes fun of the explanation used to preserve the possibility despite failed tests. That rhetorical job is more precise than C's description.
- DCorrect
The wording ridicules the idea that the abilities are real but vanish under controlled conditions. The surrounding description of Dyson's plea as “ridiculous” confirms that mocking tone.
- E
B later refers to repeated experiments and their results. Here the phrase is sarcasm about Dyson's explanation, not a neutral report that scientific investigations detected disappearing powers.
More Purpose of Claim questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Purpose of Claim questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.