#10 - Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10828)

The correct answer choice is (C)

This question asks for the choice that exemplifies the line 18 reference to “received attitudes.” In that discussion, the author says that it can be tempting to ascribe a simple, trouble-free existence to such peoples because that is an appealing image.

Answer choice (A): This does not exemplify the received attitudes as discussed above, so this cannot be the right answer to this Must question.

Answer choice (B): This is a clever wrong answer choice; an example of the received attitudes referred to by the actor would be that the !Kung people are happy—NOT that thinking this makes Western people happy.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. This choice provides a good example of the kind of received attitudes that the question asks about—the idea that such people live simple lives with few problems.

Answer choice (D): The author mentions Nisa’s tragic losses to show that she does not live such a trouble-free existence, but this choice does not exemplify the received attitudes mentioned by the author.

Answer choice (E): This is a point that the author makes, but it is not an exemplification of the received attitudes the question asks about, so this choice should be ruled out of contention.

[Arindom]

Hi,

Why is ans choice B incorrect? Doesn't the author take the statement from Michel Lerris that considering the !Kung and "their seemingly uncomplicated life...make them prime candidates for Western appreciation? Wouldn't that be conceived of as a "received attitude?"

Thanks.

-Arindom

[Adam Tyson]

The language of this passage is, for me at least, almost entirely foreign. I expect that many students feel the same way, and it's no surprise that such a passage should find its way onto the LSAT, challenging the reader/test-taker to have to search for and apply context clues (a skill that is very useful in deciphering both the dense and often archaic language of statutes and the jargon-filled and often complicated language found in many case decisions). I start out not knowing what on earth a "received attitude" is - received from where, by whom? Who sent it? I don't recall signing for the package - are you sure it's mine?

The context here helps - first, we are told that the book helps to correct and qualify those attitudes, whatever they are. That tells me that those attitudes are mistaken, based on misunderstandings and common misconceptions. The quote that follows from Leiris, warning about considering others happy because doing so makes us happy (and not because those others actually are happy, or so it implies) gives us a more particular idea about what some of those received attitudes are about, and that the !Kung are apparently not so happy and idyllic as we outsiders might at first think.

So, with this question, we are looking for an answer that describes a misunderstanding that the book might correct, an attitude about the !Kung that is not necessarily based on their real circumstances but on our desire to see them as happy people leading an idyllic life. That's what we get with C, the correct answer here - an attitude about the !Kung that is not supported by the facts of their existence, but is something we might wish to believe.

B describes something to do with WHY we develop these particular attitudes, but it is not an attitude itself. That is, it isn't a mistaken belief about the !Kung, but a description of what westerners feel when they think about the !Kung. We need an answer that is an actual example of a misunderstanding or false impression, and B doesn't provide that.

Take another look and see if that makes more sense, especially in light of the question stem calling for something that "exemplifies" those received attitudes.

[Strongam]

I too had the same reasoning as Arindom but thank you so much Adam for clearing that up. That is one of the best explanations I have seen yet on these forums. So this is a thank you post! Thank you Adam! It is great to see those responding to the comments trying to see things the way other test takers see them and then pointing in the right direction. It really helps me feel like we are on the same team in beating this test.

[Adam Tyson]

My pleasure! We are indeed on your team, and we have all been where you are, studying for this test and sometimes coming up against tough language and challenging concepts. We feel your pain and want to help you alleviate it! Keep at it, and keep coming back here for more. Thanks for being on our team!

[Blueballoon5%]

Hello! I understand why C is right, but why is A wrong? I chose A because of the wording in line 11, which explicitly stated that one of those perceptions was that the !Kung had an "undeniable charm (that) make them prime candidates for Western appreciation."

When answering this question, I narrowed down to answer choice A and C, and ultimately chose A because it seemed more explicit, while answer choice C was more implicit in the rest of the paragraph.

[Brook Miscoski]

Blueballoon,

To correctly identify the meaning of a reference in context, you must account for the entire context. Since the passage contrasted the received attitudes about the idyllic lives of the !Kung with the actual harshness of their everyday lives, only answer choice (C) can do the job. There is no support for (A), which simply tries to attract the test taker by repeating a snippet from the passage. Beware of choices that obsess on a detail instead of capture overall context when context is what is needed.

[TheKingLives]

Hi PowerScore Staff, I actually dismissed C outright because I thought "seminomadic" was too broad a descriptor for the !Kung, and was debating between A and B. I ended up dismissing B for the reasons you mentioned, but now after seeing "received attitudes about 'simple' societies" I'm realizing that I probably should have dismissed A and B outright! Since the passage states that the attitudes are about societies (plural) the answer choice has to reference multiple societies besides the !Kung, and only C and E do that. E would then be dismissed leaving C standing. Would you say this is a correct line of thinking?

[Adam Tyson]

In short, yes! We need some statement that matches the idea that western people like to think that people living in "simple" societies are happy, even if that's not actually true. It does not have to be solely about the !Kung people, but they certainly fit the bill, according to this author. Well done!