LSAT 116 – Section 2 – Question 20

LSAT 116 - Section 2 - Question 20

June 2004

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT116 S2 Q20
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Net Effect +NetEff
A
4%
158
B
10%
157
C
8%
158
D
58%
166
E
19%
160
150
160
170
 +Hardest 146.822 +SubsectionMedium

Social critic: One of the most important ways in which a society socializes children is by making them feel ashamed of their immoral behavior. But in many people this shame results in deep feelings of guilt and self-loathing that can be a severe hardship. Thus, moral socialization has had a net effect of increasing the total amount of suffering.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that moral socialization has had a net effect of increasing the total amount of suffering. This is based on the premise that in many people, the shame that is caused by moral socialization results in feelings of guilt and self-loathing that can be a severe hardship for those people.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author makes a conclusion about the net effect of moral socialization on the total amount of suffering in the world, but only describes one factor that increases suffering. This overlooks the possibility that moral socialization has effects that reduce suffering that might outweigh the increase in suffering described by the author.

A
overlooks the possibility that the purported source of a problem could be modified to avoid that problem without being eliminated altogether
The author does not assume that moral socialization cannot be changed in the future. The author’s conclusion is solely about the effect moral socialization has had until this point.
B
fails to address adequately the possibility that one phenomenon may causally contribute to the occurrence of another, even though the two phenomena do not always occur together
The author does not assume that there is no causal relationship between two things. The author’s assumption is that the increase in moral suffering caused by the feelings of guilt/self-loathing in many people is not outweighed by a reduction in suffering in other people.
C
presumes, without providing justification, that a phenomenon that supposedly increases the total amount of suffering in a society should therefore be changed or eliminated, regardless of its beneficial consequences
The author does not conclude that any aspect of how we socialize children should be changed or eliminated. The author’s conclusion is simply a descriptive statement about the effect of moral socialization.
D
takes for granted that a behavior that sometimes leads to a certain phenomenon cannot also significantly reduce the overall occurrence of that phenomenon
The author thinks that because moral socialization sometimes leads to suffering (by causing many to feel shame), it can’t significantly reduce overall suffering. This is flawed because moral socialization might help reduce suffering in others, thus reducing suffering overall.
E
presumes, without providing justification, that if many people have a negative psychological reaction to a phenomenon, then no one can have a positive reaction to that phenomenon
The author doesn’t assume that “no one” can have a “positive reaction” to moral socialization. Some people might react positively; as long as this reaction isn’t a reduction in suffering enough to outweigh the increased suffering in many people, this doesn’t hurt the argument.

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LSAT PrepTest 116 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Reading Comprehension

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