#22 - Global Reference, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14182)

The correct answer choice is (B)

This question asks us to select the answer choice that best describes the main purpose of passages A and B respectively. Our prephrase is that Passage A describes a theory of justice related to property ownership and Passage B applies that theory in the context of Native American ownership of land in North America.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because Passage B does not critique a “proposed solution to a moral problem.” Passage B does offer a critique (of how land was illicitly taken from Native Americans in North America), but the critique is not of a moral theory.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice because it properly describes the purpose of each passage. The branch of moral theory outlined by Passage A is the theory of justice regarding property. Passage B implicitly applies that theory to analyze the real case of Native American ownership of land in North America.

Answer choice (C): Although Passage A does provide detail regarding two principles, i.e., justice in acquisition and justice in transfer, the primary purpose of the passage was to discuss the broader theory of justice regarding property, of which those two principles were a part. Also, the case regarding Native Americans described in Passage B does not “exemplify a moral ideal.” Instead, Passage B treated the illicit taking of Native American lands as an example in which injustice occurred.

Answer choice (D): Here, the answer choice improperly describes Passage A, which did not argue for an ideal. Rather, it described the tenets of a particular theory and discussed how to deal with injustice. Also, Passage B did not question the assumptions of a moral theory. To the contrary, Passage B appeared to assume that the theory of justice regarding property was valid and should be applied in the case of Native Americans.

Answer choice (E): This answer choice is incorrect because Passage B does not offer a counterexample to a widely held principle. Even assuming that the theory of justice regarding property is a widely held principle, Passage B did not provide a counterexample to it, which would be a circumstance in which justice would require an outcome contrary to what would result from an application of the theory of justice regarding property.

[gintriag]

I will make a quick analysis:

Before choosing any option, I have to identify the main purpose of both passages.

Passage A states two principles which lead to an ideal/utopic definition of justice regarding property. Besides that, we live in a non ideal world so property based on past injustices should be addressed with a principle of rectification.

Passage B gives an example "Native Americans lands". Describes a legal act for the protection of their land, the principle in which the act is based and restoration of their land.

(A) Passage A is not entirely a solution proposal because the solution or "principle of rectification" is covered at the end of the passage. Passage B does not criticize anything.

(B) This is the correct answer. Passage A describes justice regarding property which is a branch of moral theory. Passage B is indeed a moral case of a real one.

(C) Passage A focuses not just on the two principles but on a definition of justice regarding property and a principle of rectification. Passage B examines a case but not one that exemplifies a moral ideal.

(D) Passage A argues for a moral ideal but in a wider way. This answer is too general. Passage B does not question assumptions.

(E) Passage A does not advocate the use of certain moral principles. Passage B does not provide a moral counterexample. This answer should be ruled out of contention.

If the staff can give a better and detailed explanation would be awesome.

[Claire Horan]

I think you've done a great job explaining the problem. Do you have a further question?

[JKP2018]

Can someone explain how either passage is moral in nature? Both during my pre-test and in an untimed review afterwards, if you asked me to describe the main point of either passage, 'moral' would be the last term I considered.

[Malila Robinson]

Hi JKP2018,
The morality of the passages has been discussed in previous answers, but I will try to clarify it here for you. In Passage A, morality is related to justice/injustice regarding acquisition of property. Passage B focuses more on unjust aspects of morality related to the the theft of land.
Hope that helps!
-Malila

[JKP2018]

Thanks, but it's not too helpful. These appear to be legal issues, not moral issues.

It's possible for something to be against the law without being against a moral code. Jaywalking is a crime, but you are not committing a moral offense when one does it. It's similarly possible to do unethical things without actually breaking any law.

When I read passage A, it seems to be saying, "How do we set up an ideal system concerning property distribution and transfer?" I cannot imagine looking at this and thinking, "Aha, morality!"

If the answer choices had replaced 'moral questions' with 'legal questions', I would have solved this without problem. By calling it a moral issue, though, I assumed it must be some type of Shell Game answer, so I ended up picking the answer that had the least mention of morality (and after wasting precious minutes re-reading the passage wondering if I missed something).

I suppose it's not a big deal in the long run, but I ran out of time because of this question, which soured my mood, I got angry and basically wasted a practice test because my emotions were out of whack and I couldn't get myself back to neutral. Maybe I should just chalk this up to the LSAT writers using misleading questions and move on.

[Adam Tyson]

The concept of justice is what makes passage A primarily about morals rather than law, JKP2018. The law only deals with what is legal or illegal, not what is just or unjust, right or wrong. Rectification of past injustice is a moral issue, righting a wrong. In passage B, the issue is raised of land "illicitly" taken - not "illegally" but "illicitly, " and that, too, is a moral claim. Finally, page B talks about the practicality of righting a wrong. Moral concepts simply fill these passages! Legal principles are secondary here, and their purpose is to show how the law might be used as a positive force for doing good.

Look it over again in that light, with "justice" being a moral, rather than legal, concept, and I think it will make much more sense to you.

[Agent00729]

I also did not think of these passages as being about morality. To me, justice is about fairness (ie, under the law), whereas morality is comprised of objective standards of right and wrong. While there can definitely be overlap, I don't think they are the same thing, and unless specifically stated, I don't understand how the passage was intended to relate to morality. It seems more like questions of ethics and justice to me.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Agent00729!

When we're studying the for LSAT, we have to always keep in mind that we're really just trying to learn how this test works and how the testmakers think. Previous questions give us insight into how the testmakers think. It's perfectly acceptable and common to disagree with an LSAT answer choice or to think you could have written a better option--sometimes the right answer is frustrating! But, ultimately, our task is not to argue with the answer choices--it's to understand why the LSAT makers think that the correct answer is correct so that you better understand the logic of the testmakers.

In this case, every single answer choice has something to do with morality. So even if we think there is a distinction between ethics/justice and morality, clearly the LSAT does not. At that point, we have to accept that the LSAT sees the issue of justice as a moral issue and adjust our evaluations of the answer choices accordingly. Remember that the LSAT is not testing us on whether we know the subtle differences between definitions of ethics and morality. It's testing us on our ability to find the answer choice out of the five options they've given us that we can most prove using the information in the passage provided. So if all five answer choices are about morality, we say, ok, this issue of justice must be a moral one. Now which answer choice best describes the main purposes of these passages which apparently deal with moral issues?

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[Agent00729]

Got it, thanks for your help!