Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT140 S1 Q7 Explanation

Ethicist: Robert Gillette has argued

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

TopicsMain Conclusion

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Stimulus

Ethicist: Robert Gillette has argued that because a thorough knowledge of genetics would enable us to cure the over 3,000 inherited disorders that affect humanity, deciphering the human genetic code will certainly benefit humanity despite its enormous cost. Gillette's argument is not persuasive, however, because he harm human beings more than it would benefit them.

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
7.

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

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Objection / Unstated2% picked this

    Gillette's argument wrongly assumes that deciphering the genetic code will lead to cures

    Our author is saying that Gillette's argument wrongly assumes that deciphering the genetic code, "will be a net benefit to humanity" / "will not lead to more harm than benefit"

  2. Premise Last Claim Trap26% picked this

    Deciphering the genetic code might ultimately harm human beings more than

    This is the last claim of the paragraph, which was a premise. The last claim will sometimes be the correct answer on Main Conclusion but is inherently trappy. In this case, this final claim is prefaced by a Support word, "because", so it's easy to be sure that this is not the Main Conclusion.

  3. Too Strong: should not be conducted1% picked this

    Because of its possible negative consequences, genetic research should not

    The author's conclusion is, "Gillette has not convinced me that deciphering the genetic code will benefit humanity", not "we should do no genetic research".

  4. Wrong Objection / Unstated2% picked this

    Gillette's claim that a thorough knowledge of genetics would enable us to cure over 3,000

    The author is saying, "I accept that we'll be able to cure more disorders, but deep knowledge of our genetic code might lead to harm that outweighs that benefit." Her objection wasn't to Gillette's premise about curing disorders, it was to his conclusion that this will be a net benefit for humanity.

  5. Correct68% picked this

    Gillette's argument is unconvincing because it ignores certain possible consequences of

    Why this is right

    Yes, "Gillette's argument is unconvincing" is a perfect meaning match for "Gillette's argument is not persuasive". This answer is an anomaly among correct answers to Main Conclusion questions, because it contains both the conclusion and a summary of the evidence. Why would LSAC make this mistake? Not sure. But if our only objection to this answer is, "Hey, not fair, you have the Conclusion and the Premise", and our objection to every other answer is, "Hey, that's not the Conclusion", then this is our best available answer.

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

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