Conditional Reasoning Drill, Q.9, pg.128. - 'Only way'

[Annah]

Dear Dave,

We have clearly been asked (as often as possible) to approach conditional statements in a mechanical fashion so as to prevent ourselves from delving into what the statement actually means, (or could mean or should mean) in order to save time.

However, with more complicated conditional statements, where no indicators are present we have no choice but to reconstruct a sentence in the classic 'if...then' format if we suspect the statement might be a conditional one.

Question #9 states: 'The only way to achieve success is to work hard.'

I fell into the trap of equating the portion following only as the necessary condition and only after converting it into the 'if...then' construction did I realize that I was wrong. In your explanation you have stated that 'only' modifies 'way' but 'only' can be paired with any number of words that it may or may not modify. Either ways, one would have to break down the statement into an 'if...then' construction, make logical sense of it and then decide which portion of the statement forms the sufficient and necessary conditions.

If a question states: The only solution to this problem is to kill yourself (excuse the sadism-the LSAT can do that to you), 'only' would modify 'solution' just as it modified 'way' in Q.9 and I only realize that after I have converted this sentence into the following:

If you want to solve this, then kill yourself. S K (what I get if I realize that 'only' modifies 'solution')
If you want to kill yourself then solve this. K S (what I get if I take 'only' at face value and assume it leads to the necessary condition)

Only after breaking it down into the above two parts do I realize that the second option makes no sense and the correct option must be the former and that what follows 'only' in this sentence is NOT the necessary condition. I cannot conceive beforehand that only is modifying the words 'way' or 'solution'.

With regards to Questions 3 and 12 from the same drill it is somewhat easier to gauge which parts are the sufficient and necessary conditions despite the compete lack of indicator words. This is because my first instinct is to convert the statement into an 'if...then' construction. On the other hand, when an indicator word such as 'only' is used one might tend to skip that mental if/then construction, taking the presence of the indicator word as for granted and mechanically making a diagram based on it.

Another example of where the usage of 'only' is confusing for instance, is on pg.162 in Q.1 of the Sufficient and Necessary Question Problem Set.
Here, the presence of 'only when' equates the part of the sentence following 'only' to be the necessary condition even though the presence of the sufficient condition indicator 'when' is also present next to it. I am not quite clear on why 'when' as a SC indicator is not taken into consideration in this question.

My main question therefore is: Is there any specific way to be able to detect when 'only' is modifying the word after it so it becomes the sufficient condition and when 'only' is to be understood as an indicator solely for a necessary condition?

Thank you!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Annum,

Thanks for the questions. There are few points here which require clarification, and to some extent, I think you are getting yourself turned around a bit.

First, the point I make about approaching conditional reasoning from a mechanical standpoint is limited to the initial learning stages. If you start out by trying to think through conditional problems at first, that usually causes problems for the beginner. Approaching it mechanically actually makes people extremely good, very quickly. However, there's a point along the path where I most certainly want you to fully engage you mind, when needed. Thus, I suggest processing just about any conditional question mechanically until you see something unusual, and then engage higher reasoning analysis.

Second, "only" can modify a lot of different words, but in that sentence it is modifying "way;" thus, the "way" becomes necessary condition. The trap you fell into was one of proximity: you saw "only" as being physically closest to "achieve success." But, this is why we study these questions—to begin to see these variations so next time you won't make the same mistake again. For example, when I saw your sentence about the "only solution," I was able to convert it instantly, without an "if...then" conversion.

In sentences that you encounter in the future, "only" might modify different words (such as "solution"), and then it becomes your job to determine what it is modifying. I don't think it is necessary at all to convert everything into an "if...then" structure, and most high LSAT scorers won't use that approach because it is too time-consuming. I kind of feel that you are a bit annoyed at the English language since it has so many variations But, that's the hand we've been dealt, so you simply have to accommodate that, and studying as many different questions as you can is the best way to acclimate. So, at this stage, I would say the issue is that you just aren't entirely comfortable with the different ways that "only" can and will be used. Over time, fortunately, that will disappear.

Third, examples like #3 and #12 are there exactly to make you face situations where "clear" indicators are not present. Of course, after doing those two, you can see that "no"—because of it's sweeping effect—is in fact an indicator. Again, the more things like that you encounter, the better and ultimately faster you become. If at first it helps to put it into "if...then" form, do so. But eventually you'll begin to realize the pattern under those sentence forms, and you'll stop doing that.

Fourth, "Only if" and "only when" are functionally identical because "if" and "when" operate in a similar fashion. That's not confusing--it's actually predictable. You have to remember that there is no way the book can expose you to every single idea prior to you encountering it. There are times, intentionally, that I set up concepts with some background early on, only to expand them later in drills or questions. Why? Because some of the best and most memorable learning occurs when someone struggles with a problem, and then later see how it works and connects to the concepts they already know. That period of struggle tends to ingrain that idea into them.

Last, but not least, keep in mind that language has so many variations that very rarely are there immutable rules that work for every single conceivable variation. You can almost always make up some kind of bizarre scenario where it looks like something isn't working. But, that's not the case with the examples you've raised. "Only" is in fact operating in a very consistent manner here, but because the word it modifies sometimes refers to other ideas (as is the case with "way" or "solution") it threw you off. I think that's actually good, because now you are attuned to usage of "only" and you'll remember this I think if you go back and spend some more time with it (or, better, keep working on it and noticing it as you encounter new questions), you'll actually begin to realize that the usage is constant.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[Annah]

Hi Dave!

Thank you so much for the explanation! Me and my friends (who are also studying for the LSAT) had a rather long discussion over 'only', by the end of which everybody was thoroughly confused and none the wiser. I'll be sure to share this discussion with them as your answer helps clarify a number of issues. Conditional reasoning always incites heated discussions with a number of varying interpretations of any one word of the English language and they can indeed, apart from being occasionally helpful, turn one's head around! Thanks once again for your help!

Best.