Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT111 S4 Q9 Explanation

Moralist: Humans have a natural

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

TopicsMain Conclusion

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Stimulus

Moralist: Humans have a natural disposition to altruism—that is, to behavior that serves the needs of others regardless of one’s own needs—but that very disposition prevents some acts of altruism from counting as moral. Reason plays an essential role in any moral behavior. Only behavior that is intended of rules, or moral code, can be considered moral behavior.

What this question is testing

Main Conclusion

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
9.

Which one of the following most accurately states the main conclusion of

Answer choices

  1. Unstated0% picked this

    All moral codes prohibit

    The correct answer on Main Conclusion identifies which explicit claim was the conclusion. There was no explicit claim that said "all moral codes prohibit selfishness". We're looking to match the 2nd half of the first sentence.

  2. Unstated1% picked this

    All moral behavior is motivated by

    The correct answer on Main Conclusion identifies which explicit claim was the conclusion. There was no explicit claim that said "all moral behavior is motivated by altruism". We're looking to match the 2nd half of the first sentence.

  3. Unstated6% picked this

    Behavior must serve the needs of others in order to be

    The correct answer on Main Conclusion identifies which explicit claim was the conclusion. There was no explicit claim that said "to be moral, it must serve the needs of others". We're looking to match the 2nd half of the first sentence.

  4. Correct87% picked this

    Not all altruistic acts are moral

    Why this is right

    This is the best match we get for the 2nd half of the first sentence: our natural disposition to altruism prevents some acts of altruism from counting as moral It's a somewhat unsatisfying match, because it doesn't reflect the causal aspect that "because we have a natural inclination to be altruistic, it doesn't qualify as altruism." But saying that "some acts of altruism are prevented from counting as moral" is still a good match for "not all altruistic acts are moral".

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

  5. Unstated6% picked this

    Altruism develops through the use of

    The correct answer on Main Conclusion identifies which explicit claim was the conclusion. There was no explicit claim that said "altruism develops through the use of reason". We're looking to match the 2nd half of the first sentence.

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