#18 - Etiquette helps people to get along with each other.

[rragepack]

Dear Powerscore,

Would this stimulus be a set of facts or an argument? If it is an argument what would be the premises and conclusion?

Thank you.

Best,
rrage

[Adam Tyson]

Just a fact set, rrage, so no premises and no conclusions to deal with. It's up to us to draw a conclusion and find that conclusion in the answer choices.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Cornflakes,

While I think the method you suggest works here, I strongly caution against making something conditional that isn't. It can make you think you have certainty about a relationship that you do not, a particular danger in the must be true context.

Hope that helps!

[nicizle]

I'm really trying to dive into the minds of the LSAT test writers, but to be honest, for a lot of questions like these, it feels like there is a lot of mental gymnastics that goes on to justify why one answer is more correct than the other.

Regarding answer choices A and C, why is it that we are not allowed to connect the ideas of social harmony and kindness to etiquette to ultimately arrive at AC A, but in AC C, we're somehow allowed to connect the idea of social harmony to the idea of avoiding inadvertent offense to ultimately arrive at correct answer choice C?

How do we know when we're allowed to make certain connections in certain cases, but not others? This is confusing and feels like a lot of mental gymnastics to try to justify why one answer is marginally better than the other.

[nicizle]

I'm really trying to dive into the minds of the LSAT test writers, but to be honest, for a lot of questions like these, it feels like there is a lot of mental gymnastics that goes on to justify why one answer is more correct than the other.

Regarding answer choices A and C, why is it that we are not allowed to connect the ideas of social harmony and kindness to etiquette to ultimately arrive at AC A, but in AC C, we're somehow allowed to connect the idea of social harmony to the idea of avoiding inadvertent offense to ultimately arrive at correct answer choice C?

How do we know when we're allowed to make certain connections in certain cases, but not others? This is confusing and feels like a lot of mental gymnastics to try to justify why one answer is marginally better than the other.

I mixed up the answer choices in my previous post, as AC A is the correct answer, and C is the incorrect answer, but my stance and questions remain. Here is how my second paragraph should read:

Regarding answer choices A and C, why is it that we are not allowed to connect the ideas of social harmony and kindness to etiquette to ultimately arrive at AC C, but in AC A, we're somehow allowed to connect the idea of social harmony to the idea of avoiding inadvertent offense to ultimately arrive at correct answer choice A?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi nicizle,

First, you were right the first time. The correct answer to this question is C, not A.

The key to correctly answering this question is properly distinguish between facts and opinions (and points of view) in this stimulus. LSAT stimuli often shift from facts to opinions or vice versa, and you want to pay attention to these shifts.

Here, the first two sentences are presented as facts. Etiquette does help people get along. It does prevent people from inadvertently offending people. We then get the opinion/belief of "many people" that etiquette has no beneficial effect. These same people think/believe that kindness and social harmony are good.

Now, if these people also believed that etiquette promotes kindness and social harmony, then they would have contradictory views about etiquette and Answer A would correctly describe that situation.

In that situation, these people would simultaneously believe that:

1. Etiquette promotes kindness and social harmony
2. Kindness and social harmony are good (i.e. beneficial)
3. Etiquette has no beneficial effects

The problem with Answer A is that we do not know that these people believe that etiquette promotes kindness and social harmony. Even though the stimulus states that etiquette helps people get along, which would imply promoting social harmony, that does not mean that these people believe this to be true. It is quite possible that they are either unaware of this fact or simply choose not to believe it.

Answer C, on the other hand, directly contrasts their belief that etiquette has no social benefit to the fact that it does help people get along, which would be considered a social benefit.