Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT1 S3 Q4 Explanation

The theory of military deterrence

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsMust be True

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Stimulus

The theory of military deterrence was based on a simple psychological truth, that fear of retaliation makes a would-be aggressor nation hesitate before attacking and is often sufficient to deter it altogether from attacking. Clearly, then, to maintain military deterrence, a nation would have to be believed to have retaliatory power so to think that it could not defend itself against such retaliation.

What this question is testing

Must be True

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
4.

If the statements above are true, which one of the following can

Answer choices

  1. Trap15% picked this

    A would-be aggressor nation can be deterred from attacking only if it has certain knowledge that it would be destroyed in retaliation

  2. Trap4% picked this

    A nation will not attack another nation if it believes that its own retaliatory power surpasses that

  3. Trap21% picked this

    One nation’s failing to attack another establishes that the nation that fails to attack believes that it could not withstand a retaliatory

  4. Correct51% picked this

    It is in the interests of a nation that seeks deterrence and has unsurpassed military power to let potential aggressors against it become aware

    Why this is right

    Answer D is correct.

    Skill tested: Must be True · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  5. Trap10% picked this

    Maintaining maximum deterrence from aggression by other nations requires that a nation maintain a retaliatory force greater than

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