LSAT 125 – Section 2 – Question 22

LSAT 125 - Section 2 - Question 22

June 2008

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT125 S2 Q22
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Lack of Support v. False Conclusion +LSvFC
A
1%
154
B
10%
155
C
3%
153
D
3%
155
E
83%
164
142
149
157
 +Medium 145.417 +SubsectionEasier

Student: The publications of Professor Vallejo on the origins of glassblowing have reopened the debate among historians over whether glassblowing originated in Egypt or elsewhere. If Professor Vallejo is correct, there is insufficient evidence for claiming, as most historians have done for many years, that glassblowing began in Egypt. So, despite the fact that the traditional view is still maintained by the majority of historians, if Professor Vallejo is correct, we must conclude that glassblowing originated elsewhere.

A
It draws a conclusion that conflicts with the majority opinion of experts.
There is nothing flawed about disagreeing with experts. What matters is whether you have enough evidence to support your conclusion. Whether that conclusion goes against experts’ views has no bearing on the quality of the argument.
B
It presupposes the truth of Professor Vallejo’s claims.
By using “if Professor V is correct,” the conclusion is conditioned on the hypothetical situation in which Professor V is correct. This does not assume that the professor is in fact correct. So the author doesn’t assume that Professor V’s claims are true.
C
It fails to provide criteria for determining adequate historical evidence.
The premise asserts that if Professor V is correct, there’s not enough evidence to say that glassblowing began in Egypt. We accept this premise as true. It doesn’t matter whether we know the criteria for adequate evidence.
D
It mistakes the majority view for the traditional view.
The author labels the view of “most historians” as the “traditional view.” We have no reason to think this labeling is wrong. In any case, whether a view is traditional has no impact on the argument. The author never rejected a view because it was traditional or not traditional.
E
It confuses inadequate evidence for truth with evidence for falsity.
The author confuses inadequate evidence for the truth of a claim (that glassblowing began in Egypt) as evidence that the claim is false. This is a flaw because a claim can still be true, even if there’s not enough evidence to prove that it’s true.

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LSAT PrepTest 125 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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