Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT138 S2 Q4 Explanation

Columnist: The managers of some

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

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Stimulus

Columnist: The managers of some companies routinely donate a certain percentage of their companies' profits each year to charity. Although this practice may seem totally justified and even admirable, it is not. After all, corporate profits are not the property of the managers, but of the companies' owners. The to give to the poor, but he was nevertheless stealing.

What this question is testing

Weaken

Conclusion

The columnist says: managers donating company profits to charity isn't actually justified — it might look noble, but it's wrong.

Evidence (the analogy)

Profits belong to the owners. So a manager giving them away is like Robin Hood — giving to the poor with someone else's money. Robin Hood was still a thief.

Evaluate

The whole argument hangs on the Robin Hood analogy. What made Robin Hood a thief was that he took the rich people's money without their permission. If the owners actually agree with what the managers are doing — even quietly, by allowing it to keep happening — then the manager isn't taking anything against the owner's will. The Robin Hood comparison falls apart.

Goal

An answer that says the owners do, in fact, consent.

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The question
4.

Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the analogy used

Answer choices

  1. No Impact4% picked this

    The profits that a company makes in a given year are, in part, returned to the

    The argument is about whether managers can give away company profits — the part the company keeps. Whether some profits also get returned to owners doesn't affect the central issue: whose authority does the manager have to give away the rest?

  2. Correct89% picked this

    Managers who routinely donate a certain percentage of corporate profits to charity do so with

    Why this is right

    This destroys the analogy. Robin Hood took without permission — that's what made him a thief. If managers donate with the owners' tacit consent, then the managers aren't taking what isn't theirs without authorization. They're acting with the owners' approval, even if unspoken. The Robin Hood comparison fails, and the argument that depends on it loses its force.

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

  3. Out of Scope6% picked this

    Company managers often donate part of their own income to charities or

    The argument is about managers donating company profits, not their own income. Whether managers also donate personally doesn't bear on whether donating company funds is comparable to Robin Hood's theft.

  4. Out of Scope0% picked this

    Any charity that accepts corporate donations needs to be able to account for how that

    Whether charities have to account for donations is about the recipients' obligations, not about whether the giving was justified in the first place. This doesn't affect whether managers had the authority to donate.

  5. No Impact1% picked this

    Charities often solicit contributions from companies as well as

    That charities solicit from companies and individuals doesn't bear on whether managers (vs. owners) have the authority to give away company profits. The Robin Hood analogy survives this observation untouched.

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