Logical Reasoning

PT131 · S2 · Q15 Bowers: A few theorists

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Bowers: A few theorists hold the extreme view that society could flourish in a condition of anarchy, the absence of government.

Conclusion

Pay no attention to these theorists saying that society could flourish in a state of anarchy, with no government (essentially so "hands-off" that there are not any laws or regulations).

Evidence

If a social philosophy isn't promoting peace and order, it's unacceptable. And these theorists clearly aren't promoting peace and order, if they're talking about anarchy, i.e. chaos.

Evaluation

This argument is murderously hard to parse / understand. We're giving you the easiest to digest version, but don't think this one is easy to digest.

The word anarchy has multiple usages. It can be used in a formal political science way to talk about a society that lacks government structures. Humanists and Libertarians essentially want something approaching anarchy, because they think that humans and free markets will be willing and able to solve the same problems that governments attempt to.

Anarchy is also used in a colloquial way to talk about a scene of great pandemonium. .

This argument goes from using 'anarchy' in the theoretical way, to talk about an absence of government, to using 'anarchy' in the colloquial way, to talk about a scene of chaotic pandemonium.

Goal

Look for an answer calling out the Famous Flaw Equivocation, or something to the effect of,

15.

The reasoning in Bowers's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that

Correct
the meaning of a key
Why this is right
Yes, the key term of "anarchy" shifted from a technical meaning of "no government" to a conversational meaning of "chaos".
Skill tested: Flaw · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
55% picked this
the argument fails to show
Not Required
LSAT has a proud tradition of including little examples or asides that give them ammunition for trap answers. The writer who is brought up in the 3rd sentence is very tangential to the argument. He happens to have made "an interesting argument" for the position that the author is trying to shoot down (the 1st sentence). The author is trying to say that anarchy should be rejected as a social philosophy, not laissez-faire capitalism. Just because this writer in the 3rd sentence tried to connect an extreme form of laissez-faire capitalism to anarchy doesn't mean we should go forward treating those two terms interchangeably.
21% picked this
the truth or falsity of
Bad Premise Match
The author isn't rejecting anarchy based on the number of people who believe it could allow society to flourish. She's rejecting anarchy because she's equating it with chaos, which would therefore render it an unacceptable social philosophy.
3% picked this
the argument presumes, without providing
Too Strong
The author definitely never committed herself to the crazy strong claim that "every single peaceful society will flourish".
10% picked this
it is unreasonable to reject
Too Strong: "merely" Bad Premise Match
When Flaw answers say that an author "concludes X merely/simply on the grounds that Y", they are accusing Y of being the only premise. Was the author's only reason for rejecting anarchy that "anarchy is an extreme view"? No, in fact it's not even clear that the extremity of the view is one of the reasons for rejecting. She's rejecting anarchy because she's equating it with chaos, which would therefore render it an unacceptable social philosophy.
11% picked this

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