Logical Reasoning

PT114 · S2 · Q16 Ethicist: Some would ban cloning

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

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

Ethicist: Some would ban cloning on the grounds that clones would be subpeople, existing to indulge the vanity of their “originals. ” It is not illegal, however, to use one person as a vehicle for the ambitions of another.

Implied Conclusion

Banning cloning because clones would exist to indulge the vanity of their "originals" is not a good reason.

Implied Intermediate Conclusion

We already tolerate "clones" that exist to indulge the vanity of their "originals": parents and children.

Evidence

It's not illegal to use a person as a vehicle for your ambitions. Maybe you wanted to be a tennis player or a chemist so you push your child (your 'clone') to achieve in those areas. You don't have to have been born in a test tube to be an extension of someone's ego.

Evaluate

This is a weird argument since the author is rebutting the first sentence but never explicitly issues a rebuttal conclusion. We can just surmise from the context that she's saying,

Goal

The question is asking us about the second sentence, which was part of the author's Support (the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th all helped support the author's implicit rebuttal).

16.

The assertion that it is not illegal to use one person as a vehicle for another's ambitions is used in the ethicist's argument in which one of the following ways?

  1. It supports the ethicist’s view

    Bad Conclusion Match

    According to this answer, the conclusion was that "society doesn't value individuality as much as many cloning opponents think it does". Nothing in the argument is dealing with individuality. The author is only arguing that, "I find your reason for banning cloning to be unconvincing".

    12% picked this

  2. It supports the conclusion that

    Bad Conclusion Match

    According to this answer, the conclusion was that "it's okay to force children to pursue academic success". The implied conclusion is just a rebuttal to the first sentence, which says nothing about children or academic success. The author is only arguing that, "I find your reason for banning cloning to be unconvincing".

    3% picked this

  3. It is implied by the

    Wrong Role: implication Too Strong: conviction

    The ethicist never weighs in on whether clones are or aren't subpeople, so we definitely can't say that she holds some conviction one way or the other. Saying that "X is implied by Y" means that "if Y is true, then X follows". So according to this answer choice, "If the ethicist believes that clones are not subpeople (we have no idea what she believes), then it follows that it is not illegal to use one person as a vehicle for the ambitions of another". Say what? This answer doesn't make any sense. The 2nd sentence is a premise that helps to imply the author's implicit rebuttal conclusion. It's not being implied by some other fact.

    6% picked this

  4. Correct

    It supports the ethicist’s view

    Why this is right

    This gets the role correct (supporting) and gets the implicit rebuttal conclusion correct (your argument for banning cloning is unconvincing).

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

    76% picked this

  5. It describes a legal position

    Out of Scope: should be changed

    The author is not arguing that this legal position should be changed. To the contrary, she's saying, "Since we already find X legally tolerable, and the argument you're making against cloning is essentially similar to X, it makes your argument against cloning seem unpersuasive."

    3% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free