#19 - Essayist: One of the drawbacks of extreme personal and

[Ron Gore]

Hi Prep,

You're dead on about the LSAT's "central causal assumption," that there is just one cause for each effect, and that we know what that cause was. You will see some stimuli in LR in which the author explicitly references the possibility of multiple causes, or explicitly indicates less than certainty as to the cause. As you mention, the conclusion may be that "A probably caused B." In that case, the stimulus author has left some wiggle room, but it likely is still a flawed argument, because typically the stimulus won't contain the evidence necessary to reach even a probabilistic conclusion dealing with causality.

Although the LSAT tends to deal with causality in this way, always be sure to consider the entire context of the stimulus so that you don't get caught making your own assumption, that LSAC can never sneak in a valid causal argument in a LR stimulus.

Best Wishes,

Ron

[prep88]

Thank you Ron, this helps!

[ehilliard]

Hello,

Could you clarify for me the distinction between D and E? I mistakenly fell for E and think the "frequently" qualifier might be the issue there but could benefit from some more clarification!

Thanks,
Erin

[Lucas Moreau]

Hello, ehilliard,

I can see why E would draw you in - this question is a tough cookie.

The trick is that a political system that allows extreme freedom is not necessarily based on unrealistic expectations about people. It's true that if a political system that allows extreme freedom is based on unrealistic expectations, it shouldn't be supported, but such a political system might take a more realistic view of people. Like, "Some people will make bad choices, but the increased freedom is worth that drawback."

The stimulus makes it seem like the political system necessarily has those expectations, but it doesn't. That's why D is more correct than E. The "frequently" bit is a good catch, a good instinct to look for hedge words like that, but it's not what you're looking for in this case.

Hope that helps,
Lucas Moreau

[ehilliard]

Hi Lucas,

I had to read it quite a few times but I understand what you are saying now. There is a subtlety there I didn't pick up on.

Thank you!
Erin

[carnegie49]

I've read the discussion above, but am still unsure as to why E is incorrect if it isn't due to the fact that answer choice E doesn't include the qualifier 'frequently' which is used in the second sentence of the argument in terms of people making unwise decisions when given freedom.

Can someone please explain why E is wrong? Does the second sentence not necessairly describe political systems that allow for extreme freedom? Does E being incorrect not rest on the use of 'frequently' in the argument and its absence in the answer choice?

Thanks!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi carnegie49,

Thanks for your question. Answer choice (E) is wrong for two reasons:

1. Answer choice (E) could apply to the system under discussion, but it does not have to: its scope is limited only to systems that are based on unrealistic expectations. However, as discussed above, a system that allows for extreme freedom and wealth is not necessarily based on such expectations. Rather, the assumptions such a system makes are frequently unrealistic.

2. Let's take a step back for a second: the author's issue with the system under question is not (merely) that it makes unrealistic assumptions about how people will behave. Maybe all political systems make certain unrealistic assumptions. What's way more troubling is the ultimate consequences of adopting a system whose ultimate consequence might be the establishment of a totalitarian state. That's what the author wants to avoid, which is precisely why answer choice (D) gets to the heart of the issue. Answer choice (E) does not.

Hope this clears things up!

[Sophia123]

Hi!

I selected (D) as the correct answer, but like many others above I was a little tripped up on (E). The reason I didn't select it was that it seemed a bit too strong and I would have probably selected that answer if the question stem was a Justify the conclusion question rather than a strengthen question - would Justify be the right classification of this answer choice?

Thank you in advance!

-Sophia

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Sophia!

Regarding answer (E), it's possible you could see an answer choice like that if this were instead a justify-the-conclusion question.

However, even if that were the case, it's not completely clear that it would be a correct answer. (E) states "One should not support any political system that is based on unrealistic expectations about people's behavior under that system." The argument in the stimulus proceeds by stating "To expect people to thrive when they are given the freedom to make unwise decisions is frequently unrealistic." Presumably the essayist finds this unrealistic because "they may prefer to establish totalitarian political regimes that allow virtually no freedom"--this is a "destructive consequence" of extreme freedom. This leads to the conclusion that "one should not support political systems that allow extreme freedom." Answer (E) states that one should not support a political system that is "based on unrealistic expectations." The stimulus does mention unrealistic expectations--about expecting people to survive with the freedom to make unwise decisions--but it doesn't make a claim about a political system being based on unrealistic expectations. As such, it's not clear that (E) would make the conclusion overwhelmingly true if it were added to the current premises.

[oli_oops]

Hello,

I was between A and D and eventually chose A over D for not so obvious reasons.
Was A wrong because A was too absolute ? --"one should not support any political system that will inevitably lead to the establishment of a totalitarian political regime".

Any insight on why A is wrong would be appreciated!

Thank you always for all that you do, Powerscore staff!!

oli