Logical Reasoning

PT118 · S3 · Q12 Surrealist: Many artists mistakenly think

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

Surrealist: Many artists mistakenly think that models need be taken only from outside the psyche.

Conclusion

Models need not be taken only from outside the psyche. (i.e. it's okay to take some models from inside the psyche)

Evidence

If we only used the power of art to preserve and reinforce objects that would exist even without artists (i.e. outside the psyche), that would be an ironic waste.

Evaluate

When we're doing Main Conclusion questions, we read the paragraph expecting that most of the time the Conclusion will appear earlier than the Evidence.

In particular, we look out for the two most common patterns: - the Conclusion appears after a pivot word like "but, yet, however" - the Conclusion is the first sentence

We can tell that the first sentence of this paragraph is the conclusion because it's the Author's Opinion (and the conclusion on Main Conclusion is rebutting someone else's idea about half the time).

Our author is implicitly saying, and then she is disagreeing with that by throwing in the mistakenly adverb.

When an author is disagreeing with "X is Y", we should say to ourselves that the author's conclusion is really "X is not Y".

So here, since our author is disagreeing with , the author's conclusion is .

Why should we believe that it's a mistake to take models only from outside the psyche?

Because ... if artists used the power of art solely to deal with stuff that would exist even without artists (outside the psyche), that would be an ironic waste.

Note: we're not addressing the "Although" claim, since that word indicates the first half of the sentence is a counterpoint, not the author's actual emphasis.

Goal

Once we've found the conclusion, choosing an answer is just looking for the best meaning match. So we want an answer that means: - it is a mistake to take models only from outside the psyche or - it would be appropriate sometimes to take models from within the psyche

12.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion of the surrealist's argument?

  1. Correct

    An artist’s work should not

    Why this is right

    This is a restatement of the first sentence. "it is wrong to take models only from outside" means the same as "artists should not only represent models from outside the psyche".

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

    77% picked this

  2. Artistic representation is used solely

    Unstated

    On Main Conclusion, we're not trying to pick an answer that describes a potential Inference or Assumption. We're trying to find the author's explicit conclusion and then pick an answer that restates that claim. The author never said that artistic representation is used solely to preserve and reinforce objects. He said that "using the power of artistic representation solely to preserve and reinforce this type of object would be a waste".

    2% picked this

  3. Artists should not base all

    Unstated

    On Main Conclusion, we're not trying to pick an answer that describes a potential Inference or Assumption. We're trying to find the author's explicit conclusion and then pick an answer that restates that claim. The author never said that artists shouldn't base all their work on mere representation. The author said that artists shouldn't base all their work off models taken from outside the psyche.

    17% picked this

  4. Great art can confer beauty

    Counterpoint

    The conclusion is the first claim and the premise is the third claim. The second claim, which this answer is regurgitating is a concession to his opponents, a counterpoint. There will never be a Main Conclusion prefaced by the word "Although".

    3% picked this

  5. True works of art rarely

    Unstated

    The author never talks about what "true" works of art represent.

    2% picked this

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

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

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