Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT136 S4 Q26 Explanation

Anthropologist: Many people think

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

TopicsMain Conclusion

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Stimulus

Anthropologist: Many people think that if human language evolved, then something like it must be present in those species most closely related to humans, such as chimpanzees. They reason that since new traits evolve gradually, something like human language, albeit cruder, must exist in some species from which humans evolved. This general The evolution of human language might easily have begun after the extinction of that common ancestor.

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
26.

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

Answer choices

  1. Evidence6% picked this

    Humans did not evolve from chimpanzees, but rather from some

    This is a premise that supports the argument’s main point.

  2. Correct76% picked this

    The assumption that something like human language must exist in some species from which humans evolved has no

    Why this is right

    This best paraphrases the argument's main conclusion.

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

  3. Opposing Point1% picked this

    The communicative systems of chimpanzees are cruder than

    This is the point the argument opposes.

  4. Out of Scope2% picked this

    Human language is a by-product of human intelligence, which

    Human intelligence is not discussed in the argument.

  5. Evidence / Too Strong15% picked this

    The evolution of human language began after the disappearance of an extinct species from which both

    A point similar to this serves as a premise in the argument. Furthermore the premise suggests that human language might have begun after the extinction of that common ancestor. This however suggests that human language did begin after the disappearance of an extinct species from which both humans and chimpanzees evolved.

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