Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT134 S2 Q25 Explanation

Sociologist: Widespread acceptance

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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Stimulus

Sociologist: Widespread acceptance of the idea that individuals are incapable of looking after their own welfare is injurious to a democracy. So legislators who value democracy should not propose any law prohibiting behavior that is not harmful to anyone besides the person engaging to guide legislators will often become widely accepted.

What this question is testing

Necessary Assumption

Your task

Find the assumption the argument requires in order for its conclusion to hold.

Common trap

Answers that would help the argument but aren't strictly required (sufficient, not necessary).

Winning move

Negate each choice — the right one breaks the argument when negated.

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

The question
25.

The sociologist's argument requires the assumption

Answer choices

  1. Too Weak3% picked this

    democratically elected legislators invariably have favorable attitudes toward the preservation

    This fails to establish what these legislators “should” do.

  2. Supports a Premise6% picked this

    people tend to believe what is believed by those who are

    This supports a premise of the argument.

  3. Too Weak9% picked this

    legislators often seem to be guided by the assumption that individuals are incapable of looking after their own welfare, even though these

    This fails to establish the point that legislators should not propose any law prohibiting behavior that it not harmful to anyone besides the person engaging in it.

  4. Too Strong7% picked this

    in most cases, behavior that is harmful to the person who engages in it is harmful

    The argument needs to assume that there are at least some cases where this is true, but to say it’s true of most cases goes too far.

  5. Correct75% picked this

    a legislator proposing a law prohibiting an act that can harm only the person performing the act will seem to be assuming that individuals

    Why this is right

    This bridges the gap between PBNH → AGL proposing a law prohibiting an act not harmful to anyone other than the person performing the act and the legistor appearing to be guided by the assumption that individuals are incapable of looking after their own welfare.

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

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