#25 - Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13653)

The correct answer choice is (E)

The author uses the phrase “no special magic” to indicate that the distinction between voluntary and involuntary is generally arbitrary, and that such distinctions are actually based on underlying value judgements. As such, the author asserts, such distinctions should not advise policy decisions in this area.

Answer choice (A): This is not what “no special magic” refers to, so this choice should be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (B): The author does not assert that the terms “voluntary” and “involuntary” have been used to intentionally conceal the real factors, so this cannot be the right answer choice to this Must Be True question.

Answer choice (C): The author does not say or imply that those terms have no meaning beyond their literal definition, and as discussed above, this is not what the author is referring to with the phrase “no special magic,” so this choice should be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (D): Those words are not claimed to inform people’s understanding of the consequences of risk (the author believes that the distinction between voluntary and involuntary is actually often arbitrary), so this cannot be the right answer choice.

Answer choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. As prephrased above, the distinction between voluntary and involuntary should not, according to the author, be used as a basis to diverge from basic public policy directives.

[RichieC]

Hello,

I'm not really sure how to approach this question. At first glance I felt A, C, and D were attractive in that they generally conveyed "the distinction between voluntary and involuntary is generally arbitrary", but I felt as if E took that idea step further than necessary. To be honest I'm not really sure I understand what this question is asking.

Thanks in advance,

[Beatrice Brown]

Hi Richie! Thanks so much for your great question, and happy to help

This question is asking us to find the answer choice that best explains the purpose of the author's phrase "no special magic." The correct answer choice will not only accurately explain the author's view towards the notions "voluntary" and "involuntary," but it will also explain why the author uses this particular phrase in this specific part of the passage.

As you correctly noted, the author believes that the distinction between "voluntary" and "involuntary" is one that is arbitrary. In this particular passage, the author is arguing that there is not necessarily inherent utility to these two phrases, explaining that there are instances (like the case of the firefighter) where the risk being voluntary doesn't necessarily imply anything. The author then goes on to argue that we shouldn't use these terms to guide public policy decisions.

With that in mind, let's turn to the answer choices that you asked about.

Answer choice (A) is about whether "voluntary" and "involuntary" are exhaustive and implies that the author thinks that there are cases that these two terms do not capture. Since this is not the author's view, this answer choice is incorrect. The idea that the terms do not capture all scenarios is different than the idea that the author supports, which is that there is something arbitrary to these terms that makes them have little value for policy discussions.

Answer choice (C) is about whether the author thinks that there is no meaning to these terms beyond their literal definitions. However, this is again different than the author's view. The author does not believe that there is no additional meaning, but rather, they think that this additional meaning does not serve any useful purpose.

Answer choice (D) is about whether the author thinks these terms are mistakenly believed to be part of people's understanding of the consequences of risk. However, this is not the author's view, as they never claim that these phrases inform people's understanding of the consequences of risk. As such, this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (E) matches our prephrase and is the correct answer choice. When the author states that these terms provide "no special magic," they are implying that there is no utility to the use of these terms to understanding risk. Taking the next sentence of the passage into account, the author believes that since there is little to no utility to these terms, we need another way to make public policy decisions, which is what this answer choice captures.

To sum everything up, answer choice (A), (C), and (D) do not accurately portray the author's view of the terms "voluntary" and "involuntary." Since they mischaracterize the author's view, these answer choices do not correctly explain the purpose of the author's phrase "no special magic."

I hope this helps, and let me know if you have any additional questions!

[relona]

I might have thought about this question the wrong way. I saw the author's use of "no special magic" to indicate the author saying there is no set formula for deciding whether a risk is voluntary or involuntary. Based on that, I chose choice (C) not because it felt right, but because it felt like the best of the worst. Did I think the wrong way? Was my prephrase incorrect? If my prephrase was correct, can you explain how I could have gotten to answer (E) from the prephrase?

Thanks

-relona

[Adam Tyson]

I do think you started off on the wrong foot with that prephrase, relona. What the author is trying to convey is that calling something voluntary or involuntary isn't enough, by itself, to decide whether the activity deserves special protection or not. They mean that those labels carry no special meaning that will help us to decide how to think about those activities, and so those labels won't help guide our policy decisions.

The examples comparing skydiving to firefighting are meant to show that you can call two things voluntary, but people will still support subsidizing one of them and not the other. Thus, the labels aren't all that useful! It's not a question of which label to apply, or how to decide whether something is or is not voluntary. It's that slapping that label on it doesn't mean anything!