#7 - Specific Reference, Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (C).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Sdaoud17]

I got C which I was correct because it was the only answer choice that it is close to the passage but can you please explain ?

Thank you

[Luke Haqq]

It may help to understand why (C) is correct if you also understand why the others are problematic:

(A) is incorrect because that paragraph is expressing a similarity, not a difference, between Thoreau and King.

(B) is incorrect because "proves" is much too strong. The quotations don't serve this function in the passage.

(C) expresses the similarities between King and Thoreau noted when explaining why (A) is incorrect.

(D) is too broad; while those principles might be the basis for a/King's philosophy of government, this claim isn't made in the passage.

(E) is incorrect because it is talking about Thoreau, not King.

Hope that helps!

[Sdaoud17]

I did get you Cs Explanation. can you use the passage to show me more ?

Thank you

[ylikate]

I chose B for this question b/c I thought King was influenced by "Transcendentalists' discussion of higher law. I didn't choose (D) b/c it says "Ethical" standards, not "Moral" standard. Can someone help me understand why (B) is wrong and what makes (D) correct? Thanks.

[Steve Stein]

Hi ylikate,

Thanks for your question. The problem with answer choice B is that, even if King's beliefs were consistent with transcendentalist thought, those quotes on their own would not prove that King's philosophy was affected by the transcendentalists, or whether he had even been exposed to their theories.

The right answer to that question is C; the requirement that a just law square with the moral law suggests an ethical standard.

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[ylikate]

Thanks, Steve. Just to make sure I understand your comment correctly

B is wrong b/c even though the passage talks about the similarities btw King's and the Transcendents' ideas, it doesn't show "impact" or "causation"

As for D, can we always treat Moral and Ethical as equivalent? Just want to be careful since little words can mean big difference in LSAT world

[Steve Stein]

Thanks for your response. You got it! overlap of ideas does not necessarily point to causation. As for your second question, I'm hesitant to say "always," but morals and ethics are closely related concepts.

It's nice to have certainty that the answer is right, but sometimes that comes from certainty that the wrong answers are wrong. So in this case, for example, any uncertainty about the equivalence of morals and ethics in this instance could be outweighed by confidence that an overlap of ideas does not allow us to boldly infer a causal relationship.

I hope that's helpful! Please let me know whether this is clear--thanks!

~Steve

[ylikate]

Got it. I guess that's why they tell you to pick the "best" answer. It's all relative. Thanks again

[kcho10]

Hello,

The main idea of the passage is that Thoreau did not have as much of an influence on King as most writers thought, and that King would have found more in common with other Transcendentalists. Is that a correct assessment?

Given the main point, it makes it hard for me to eliminate A. I understand that paragraph 2 is about the differences between King and Thoreau, and paragraph 3 is about similarities between King and other transcendentalists. But isn't it also implied that the transcendentalist view is different from Thoreau's, although it's not directly stated? Because in order for the author to argue that King was more akin to other transcendentalists than to King, wouldn't it make sense that he is also suggesting a difference between Thoreau and those transcendentalists? If the author simply wrote this paragraph about the similarities between King and and Thoreau, it doesn't seem like it would really make sense with the main idea because if Transcendentalists including Thoreau agreed with King on this, it doesn't support the notion that King was more akin to other Transcendentalists. I hope this question makes sense...Thank you