LSAT 119 – Section 3 – Question 15

LSAT 119 - Section 3 - Question 15

June 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT119 S3 Q15
+LR
Necessary assumption +NA
Causal Reasoning +CausR
Link Assumption +LinkA
Value Judgment +ValJudg
A
7%
158
B
56%
167
C
4%
159
D
6%
158
E
28%
160
154
162
170
 +Hardest 145.195 +SubsectionEasier

J.Y.’s explanation

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Critic: Works of literature often present protagonists who scorn allegiance to their society and who advocate detachment rather than civic-mindedness. However, modern literature is distinguished from the literature of earlier eras in part because it more frequently treats such protagonists sympathetically. Sympathetic treatment of such characters suggests to readers that one should be unconcerned about contributing to societal good. Thus, modern literature can damage individuals who appropriate this attitude, as well as damage society at large.

Summary
The author concludes that modern literature can damage individuals who adopt the attitude of being unconcerned with societal good, as well as damage society. Why?
Because modern literature treats protagonists who scorn society sympathetically, and this sympathetic treatment suggests to readers that they shouldn’t be concerned about societal good.

Notable Assumptions
Notice that the conclusion brings up two new concepts — damaging individuals and damaging society. The premise doesn’t say anything about what causes damage to someone who is unconcerned with societal good or about what causes damage to society. So the author must make some kind of assumption about what damages individuals and what damages society.
More specifically, the author assumes that being unconcerned with societal good can lead to harm to one’s self and to society.

A
Some individuals in earlier eras were more concerned about contributing to societal good than is any modern individual.
The author doesn’t have to assume anything about individuals from earlier eras. The argument concerns only modern literature and its effects. The author does not conclude that modern literature is worse for people and society than earlier literature.
B
It is to the advantage of some individuals that they be concerned with contributing to societal good.
Necessary, because if it is NOT to anyone’s advantage that they be concerned with contributing to societal good, then we have no reason to think being UNconcerned with societal good would damage someone. If there’s no advantage from such concern, lack of the concern would not lead to a disadvantage.
C
Some individuals must believe that their society is better than most before they can become concerned with benefiting it.
The author’s reasoning never involves a requirement that someone believes their own society is better than most other societies. Notice that the premise does not involve a comparison to other societies.
D
The aesthetic merit of some literary works cannot be judged in complete independence of their moral effects.
“Aesthetic merit” (the artistic quality of the work) is irrelevant to the argument’s reasoning.
E
Modern literature is generally not as conducive to societal good as was the literature of earlier eras.
Not necessary, because the author’s conclusion doesn’t depend on a comparison to earlier eras. Although the argument does mention that modern literature is different from earlier eras for the purpose of establishing that the modern literature involves sympathetic treatment of certain protagonists, the conclusion doesn’t assert anything about how modern literature compares to earlier literature.

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LSAT PrepTest 119 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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