Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT109 S3 Q9 Explanation

At some point in any

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

TopicsStrengthen

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Stimulus

At some point in any discussion of societal justice, the only possible doctrinal defense seems to be “That is the way we do things here.” Different communities that each recognize the dignity and equality of all citizens will, for example, nevertheless settle on somewhat different provisions for the elderly. So we can determine the details of social policies fixed within a particular state.

What this question is testing

Strengthen

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion more likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that are consistent with the argument but add no real support, or that strengthen a claim the argument doesn't make.

Winning move

Locate the gap between evidence and conclusion, then pick the choice that closes it.

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

The question
9.

Which one of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the argument concerning the general

Answer choices

  1. Weaker Match4% picked this

    Although two socialist states each adhered to the same electoral principles, one had a different type of machine for counting ballots in

    To strengthen, we would want to see Same principles of justice, and Different details of social policies. This is close, but it's Same electoral principles, and Different details.

  2. Weaker Match11% picked this

    Two democratic industrial states, both subscribing to capitalistic economic principles, differed markedly in the respective proportions of land

    To strengthen, we would want to see Same principles of justice, and Different details of social policies. This is somewhat close, but it's Same economic principles, and Different land use details.

  3. Bad Match2% picked this

    Although each adhered to its own principles, a democracy and a monarchy each had the same distribution of

    To strengthen, we would want to see Same principles of justice, and Different details of social policies. This is Different principles, and Same economic inequality.

  4. Correct79% picked this

    Two states founded on and adhering to similar principles of justice had different requirements that had to be met in order to

    Why this is right

    This choice directly illustrates two states with similar principles of justice implementing different specific policies (requirements for government-subsidized day care), reinforcing the argument that broad principles alone don't determine detailed policies.

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

  5. Bad Match5% picked this

    Two societies based on different principles of justice, each adhering to its own principles, had

    To strengthen, we would want to see Same principles of justice, and Different details of social policies. This is Different principles of justice, and Same social policy details.

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