LSAT 105 – Section 1 – Question 10

LSAT 105 - Section 1 - Question 10

February 1999

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT105 S1 Q10
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
A
5%
156
B
87%
167
C
7%
157
D
1%
153
E
1%
155
141
149
157
 +Medium 147.243 +SubsectionMedium

The consequences of surgical errors can be devastating, and no one would want to risk surgery unless it was performed by someone highly competent to perform surgery. General surgeons have special training and expertise that make them extremely competent to perform surgery. Therefore, surgery at the hands of anyone other than a general surgeon involves highly undesirable risks.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that surgery performed by anyone other than a general surgeon involves undesirable risks. As premises, he gives two conditional claims:

(1) If a surgery is performed by someone who is not highly competent, it involves unwanted/undesirable risks.

(2) If someone is a general surgeon, that person has special training that makes them highly competent at performing surgery.

Identify and Describe Flaw
This is the flaw of mistaking sufficiency for necessity. The author treats “being a general surgeon” as necessary for “being highly competent at performing surgery.” But according to premise 2, “being a general surgeon” is sufficient, not necessary.

In other words, the argument overlooks the possibility that other kinds of doctors might also be highly competent at performing surgery.

A
there are general surgeons who are incompetent
The author doesn't fail to consider this. In fact, he explicitly claims that general surgeons are highly competent, at least when it comes to performing surgery.
B
general surgeons are not the only doctors competent to perform surgery
The author mistakenly treats “being a general surgeon” as necessary for “being highly competent at performing surgery,” while in the premises, it’s merely sufficient. He fails to consider the possibility that other doctors may also be highly competent at performing surgery.
C
the competence of the doctor performing surgery does not guarantee a successful outcome
The author never claims that a competent doctor guarantees a successful surgery. He just argues that a surgery performed by an incompetent doctor involves highly undesirable risks.
D
risk is not the only factor in deciding whether to have surgery
The author concludes that surgery performed by anyone other than a general surgeon involves undesirable risks. But he never claims that the riskiness of a surgery is the only factor in deciding whether to have it.
E
factors in addition to competence are relevant when choosing a doctor
The author doesn’t claim that competence is the only relevant factor when choosing a doctor. He just argues that a surgery performed by an incompetent doctor involves highly undesirable risks.

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LSAT PrepTest 105 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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