#19 - Professor: One cannot frame an accurate conception of

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Method of Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (C)

The professor quoted says that, because any one particular perception is limited to having come from
a single perspective, one cannot base an accurate depiction of one’s physical environment on such
a momentary perception. In other words, according to this professor, an accurate conception of an
environment cannot be based on a single perspective.

The professor goes on to apply this same logic to history books, any of which, according to the
professor, will reflect the distorted and biased perspectives of their authors.

The stimulus is followed by a Method of Reasoning question, the answer to which should certainly
be prephrased, as the argumentative strategy in this case is quite clear: the professor begins by
making a point about one’s physical environment (that you can’t trust any single perspective in
forming an accurate conception), and then goes on to apply this same argument in another context—
that of history books.

Answer choice (A): This is something of an Opposite answer: the author is not attempting to refute
a line of reasoning by comparing it with another flawed piece of reasoning; instead, the author is
trying to make a point by comparing it with another, presumably valid argument.

Answer choice (B): This choice can be confidently ruled out on many counts: the author doesn’t
consider what would happen if the conclusion were false, nor does the author point to absurd
consequences.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, and is prephrased above. The author makes
a point about history books by beginning, “similarly,” with the same point about one’s physical
environment.

Answer choice (D): The author of the passage doesn’t discuss a single thing with many
characteristics; rather, the point is made by the author by comparing the difficulty of accurately
describing one’s environment with that of creating any accurate historical account—both are limited
by having come from a single perspective.

Answer choice (E): The author of the passage attributes the difficulty of creating an accurate
conception, not to the limits of human cognition, but rather to the fact that each attempt comes from
only one single (and inherently biased) perspective.

[pasu1223]

Hello,

I narrowed down this question to answers A and C. Not knowing what the word cogent meant at the time I had a hard time deciding between the two, and went with A.

How is the proffesor not "showing that one piece of reasoning is incorrect"?

If I say you cannot do this thing for this reason, isn't that showing that your reasoning behind something is incorrect?

The "flawed" thing he is comparing it to being the statement about how reading a single book gives a distorted view?

Thanks for any help!

Patrick

[AthenaDalton]

Hi Patrick,

Yes, I think you're seeing this argument correctly.

Answer choice (A) describes a situation where the professor uses one flawed analogy to show that another, similar piece of reasoning is incorrect.

Answer choice (C) works the opposite way, by describing a situation where the professor uses one (correct) analogy to show that another, similar piece of reasoning is accurate.

The way to choose between them is to consider whether the professor is trying to demonstrate a flaw in someone's reasoning or is instead trying to prove that his own reasoning is correct. Here, the professor is trying to prove his point of view to be correct. He starts off by using the analogy of getting just a brief glimpse of one's environment from a single perspective to make a comparison to a history book giving "just a glimpse" of a certain period of time. Both analogies support the professor's final conclusion: that it's impossible to get a clear view of something from just one point of view.

I hope that helps clarify things. Good luck studying!

Athena

[PresidentLSAT]

Hoping to get some confirmation on this.

I eliminated A because it's literally the opposite. The author in the stimulus actually makes a valid point. The author isn't also saying the reasoning is incorrection. The criticism here is about the approach to reasoning.

I eliminated E because I couldn't put my finger on "the type of reasoning" the answer choice was describing.

I want to think "unreliable" is a bit of a stretch because a methodology being flawed doesn't make it enough of a reason to be unreliable. But I'm also wrestling with the idea that the insufficiency and flawed methodology is precisely what makes it unreliable. Any help with the distinctions will be great.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi President,

For answer choice (A), you are right on. Good work.

For answer choice (E), you don't want to eliminate an answer choice because you can't name the reasoning unless you clearly named the reasoning in the stimulus, and you know it doesn't match. The key problem with answer choice (E) is that it talks about cognition, whereas our stimulus talks about perception. Those are two different concepts, and thus answer choice (E) is not describing the stimulus above.

Answer choices in method questions can be incorrect because they describe the reasoning incorrectly or because they incorrectly attribute facts or ideas to the stimulus that were not there.

Good work!