LSAT 154 – Section 1 – Question 02

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Type Tags Answer
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Curve Question
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Psg/Game/S
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Explanation
PT154 S1 Q02
+LR
+Exp
Sufficient assumption +SA
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Link Assumption +LinkA
A
1%
151
B
1%
153
C
2%
153
D
94%
163
E
2%
153
129
137
145
+Easier 147.621 +SubsectionMedium


J.Y.’s explanation

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Classicist: In the ancient Athenian democracy, unlike in any other political system in world history, the legislature consisted of all eligible voters. Athenian voters, not elected representatives, made all political decisions by direct vote after public debate in the Assembly. Thus, if the world has ever known true democracy, it was only in ancient Athens.

Summary
The author concludes that if there has been a true democracy, it must have been in ancient Athens. Why? Because in ancient Athens, the legislature consisted of all eligible voters, and this wasn’t true for any other political system in world history. This meant that in Athens, individual voters made all political decisions by direct vote.

Missing Connection
We’re trying to prove that if something was a true democracy, it must have been in ancient Athens. But none of the premises tell us what’s required to be a true democracy. So at a minimum, we know the correct answer should tell us what’s required for a true democracy.
We can go further to anticipate a more specific connection. What was the quality that was found only in ancient Athens? The legislature consisted of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions. If we can establish that in order to be a true democracy, a polical system must have the quality that was found only in ancient Athens — legislature consisting of all eligible voters, who made all political decisions — then we will prove that only ancient Athens could have been a true democracy.

A
Most political systems in world history have not been democracies.
(A) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (A) cannot make the argument valid.
B
Public debate is an essential part of any democratic decision-making process.
(B) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (B) cannot make the argument valid.
C
Athens was the only city in ancient Greece that had a democratic political system.
(C) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. Learning that Athens was the only ancient Greek city with a democratic political system does not establish that there were no “true” democracies elsewhere in the world either in ancient times or at any other time.
D
A political system is not a true democracy unless the eligible voters themselves vote directly on all political decisions.
(D) establishes that in order to be a true democracy, the eligible voters must vote directly on all political decisions. The premises establish that this happened only in ancient Athens.
E
Most Athenians who were eligible to vote attended the Assembly whenever it was debating important political decisions.
(E) doesn’t tell me what’s required to be a true democracy. If neither this answer nor the premises establish what’s required to be a true democracy, (E) cannot make the argument valid.

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