Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT141 S2 Q18 Explanation

Critic: An art historian argues

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

TopicsFlaw

Keep going in LSAT Lab

  • Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one

  • Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step

  • 81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Start practicing free

Free to start

Full official LSAT questions are available through LawHub. This page provides LSAT Lab's explanation, strategy, and review tools without republishing the full official question.

Stimulus

Critic: An art historian argues that because fifteenth­ century European paintings were generally more planimetric (that is, two-dimensional with no attempt at suggesting depth) than were sixteenth­-century paintings, fifteenth-century painters had a greater mastery of painting than did sixteenth­-century painters. However, this conclusion is wrong. Fifteenth- century European painters did not have which a painting is planimetric is irrelevant to the painter's mastery.

What this question is testing

Flaw

Your task

Describe the reasoning error the argument actually commits.

Common trap

Answers that name a real logical flaw the argument doesn't actually make.

Winning move

Articulate the gap in the reasoning yourself, then match it to the choice that describes that 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
18.

The argument is flawed in that

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Flaw8% picked this

    rejects a position merely because the proponent of the position has

    This describes the famous flaw Ad Hominem, in which someone dismisses another's point of view because that person has some vested interest in their claims' being true, or because that person has some conflicting past behavior. Our author dismissed a point of view because the support offered for the view was irrelevant.

  2. Wrong Flaw10% picked this

    illicitly relies on two different meanings of the

    This describes the famous flaw Equivocation, in which someone uses the same word/concept two very different ways within their argument. "Mastery" in this argument was used consistently.

  3. Wrong Flaw19% picked this

    takes a necessary condition for an argument's being inadequate to be a sufficient condition for

    This describes the famous flaw Necessary vs. Sufficient, in which a conditional logic premise is presented, and then the author applies it illegally in some backwards or opposite fashion. There was no conditional logic in this argument, so it can't be this flaw.

  4. Wrong Flaw5% picked this

    bases its conclusion on two claims that contradict

    This describes the famous flaw Internal Contradiction, in which something the author says earlier in the paragraph contradicts something he says later. There was no contradiction here. And there is only one premise (your planimetric skillz are irrelevant to assessing your mastery), so it's not even worth reading past "bases its conclusion on two claims ..."

  5. Correct57% picked this

    rejects a position on the grounds that an inadequate argument has been

    Why this is right

    Does the conclusion reject a position? Yes, "this conclusion [made by the art historian] is wrong." Does the evidence establish that an inadequate argument has been made for the position? Yes, the argument made for the position was that 15th century paintings are more planimetric. The author said that "degree of planimetric" is totally irrelevant to assessing the position (of greater mastery). If the only premise offered is irrelevant to the topic of the conclusion, then we can call that an inadequate argument. Inadequate argument = conclusion unwarranted Rejects a position = conclusion is false

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

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill
LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free