Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT102 S3 Q14 Explanation

Herbalist: Many of my customers

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

TopicsFlaw

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Stimulus

Herbalist: Many of my customers find that their physical coordination improves after drinking juice containing certain herbs. A few doctors assert that the herbs are potentially harmful, but doctors are always trying to maintain a monopoly no reason not to try my herb juice.

What this question is testing

Flaw

Conclusion

The herbalist tells customers: there's no reason not to try the herb juice.

Evidence

Some customers report improved coordination. Doctors warn the herbs are potentially harmful, but the herbalist waves them off — they're just trying to protect their monopoly.

Evaluate

That's the flaw: instead of dealing with what the doctors actually claim (the herbs are potentially harmful), the herbalist goes after the doctors themselves, accusing them of bad motives. Even if the doctors have ulterior motives, that doesn't address whether their warning is correct. The herbs could still be harmful regardless of why doctors say so.

Goal

Find the answer that describes attacking the proponents instead of engaging with their claim.

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

The question
14.

The reasoning in the herbalist’s argument is flawed because

Answer choices

  1. Bad Description2% picked this

    attempts to force acceptance of a claim by inducing fear of the consequences of

    This describes appeals to fear, not what the herbalist does. The herbalist is trying to dismiss a worry (about harm), not induce fear. Wrong flaw description.

  2. Self-Contradiction4% picked this

    bases a conclusion on claims that are inconsistent with

    This describes basing a conclusion on inconsistent premises. The herbalist's premises (customers benefit, doctors are biased) aren't inconsistent with each other. Wrong flaw description.

  3. Correct89% picked this

    rejects a claim by attacking the proponents of the claim rather than addressing

    Why this is right

    This nails the flaw — a textbook ad hominem. The herbalist rejects the doctors' claim ("the herbs are potentially harmful") not by addressing whether the herbs are actually harmful, but by attacking the doctors themselves (accusing them of monopoly-protecting motives). Whether or not doctors have such motives, that doesn't bear on whether the herbs are harmful.

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

  4. Circular Reasoning2% picked this

    relies on evidence presented in terms that presuppose the truth of the claim for which

    This describes circular reasoning — assuming the conclusion in the premises. The herbalist's premises don't presuppose that the herb juice is safe; they just dismiss the doctors. Wrong flaw description.

  5. Causal Flaw2% picked this

    mistakes the observation that one thing happens after another for proof that the second thing is the

    This describes post hoc reasoning ("after this, therefore because of this"). While the customers' benefit-after-drinking premise could be vulnerable to that flaw, the actual move the question targets is the herbalist's dismissal of the doctors. The argument's primary flaw — and the move the question asks about — is the ad hominem, not the post hoc.

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