#18 - Ethicist: Many environmentalists hold that the natural

[SLF]

With regard to this question, LSAT #53, Section #3, Question #18, will someone kindly explain to me why answer choice 'B' is incorrect?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi SLF,

Answer choice (B) establishes a principle to which the ethicist's reasoning does conform, but only in part. Indeed, the ethicist claims that an argument for preserving nature that emphasizes nature's moral value (i.e. a specific characteristic of nature) is vulnerable to logical objections. She never concludes, however, that moral value does not provide a sufficient reason for preserving nature. Just because an argument emphasizing moral value is not sufficiently strong does not mean that moral value is an insufficiently strong reason for preserving nature.

Furthermore, answer choice (B) does not conform to second part of the ethicist's argument, namely, that the argument for preserving nature should appeal to its beauty, because the latter is less vulnerable to logical objections. In short, the principle in answer choice (B) conforms to the ethicist's recommendation regarding what we shouldn't do (appeal to nature's moral value alone), but fails to proscribe what we should do (appeal to a characteristic that is less vulnerable to objections, such as beauty). I guess that wasn't as short as I had hoped... oh well. Let me know if it makes sense, though

Thanks!

[lsater180]

Hello team, I initially chose B and now kinda understand why B can't be the answer (And E is a better one) but I'm still confused as to what the main conclusion is.

I understood it as
1st sentence = OPA
2nd sentence (however~beautiful) = main conclusion
moreover, because~ but undeniable that it is beautiful as a premise supporting the following sub conclusion.

If this is the case, wouldn't E be a 'weak' answer because it doesn't necessarily connect to the main conclusion, but just strengthen/justify the relationship between the premise and the sub-conclusion?

I guess I'm still a bit unsure about the nature of the principle question. I thought they most of the time link a premise to a main conclusion.

[lsater180]

Hello I've been struggling with this question for the last few days May I please get this answered?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi lsater180!

To your first question about the conclusion, this stimulus's argument that answer choice (E) strengthens is "an argument for preserving nature that emphasizes nature’s beauty will be less vulnerable to logical objections than one that emphasizes its moral value."

To your second issue about the nature of a principle question, on the one hand, PowerScore addresses it as a distinct question type. On the other hand, PowerScore's materials are clear that it's not a separate, independent question type but rather is an "overlay" that appears in a variety of question types. You might, for example, see a principle question within a must be true, cannot be true, strengthen, or justify question type. In this case, it's a strengthen principle question. The correct answer choice, if true, bolsters the ethicist's argument if added to the stimulus.