Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Medium

PT156 S3 P2 Q12 Explanation

Dyson's View of Science

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsInferenceScience

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Passage

Passage A is adapted from a book review by physicist Freeman Dyson. Passage B is adapted to the review.

Passage

There are two extreme views concerning the role of science in human understanding. The reductionist view holds that all kinds of knowledge, from physics to ethics, can be reduced to science. The traditional view holds that science is one of many independent sources of knowledge. Most people hold views between these the reductionist extreme, while I am near the traditional extreme.

The question of the limits of science is closely connected to the possible existence of paranormal phenomena. Scientific attempts to study extrasensory perception and telepathy have failed. Skeptics conclude from this that paranormal phenomena do not exist. I do not accept this conclusion because I am not a reductionist. Paranormal phenomena may just a hypothesis, but one that I find tenable and plausible.

This hypothesis is supported by abundant evidence (stories of ordinary people who apparently possess paranormal abilities) collected by the Society for Psychical Research and similar organizations. This evidence is anecdotal rather than scientific, since it cannot be reproduced under controlled conditions. But the organizations have conscientiously interviewed eyewitnesses right after the events are not observable in well-controlled scientific experiments. Strong emotion and stress are incompatible with scientific procedures.

Paranormal phenomena and the scientific method may be complementary. "Complementary" is a technical term in quantum physics, meaning that two descriptions of nature are both valid but cannot be observed simultaneously. The classic example of complementarity is the dual nature of light. Light behaves as a wave but we cannot see both in the same experiment.

Passage

Freeman Dyson makes a ridiculous plea for openness to the paranormal because he is not a reductionist and because anecdotal evidence convinces him that under certain conditions (e.g., stress), some people exhibit paranormal powers, unless they are placed in controlled scientific conditions, in which case the powers mysteriously disappear. A scientist of reductionist or reading about weird things that happen to people does not change this scientific fact.

What this question is testing

Inference

Your task

Find what must be true based on what the passage or stimulus states.

Common trap

Answers that are plausible or likely but not actually guaranteed by the text.

Winning move

Keep only the choice the statements fully support — eliminate anything that requires an extra assumption.

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

The question
12.

Which one of the following statements most accurately describes the relationship between passage B and the assertion in passage A that "skeptics of paranormal phenomena are generally near

Answer choices

  1. Trap7% picked this

    Passage B attempts to disprove that

  2. Trap10% picked this

    Passage B dismisses that assertion as not worthy of

  3. Correct74% picked this

    Passage B serves as an example of

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap4% picked this

    Passage B examines the relationship of that assertion to the principle

  5. Trap5% picked this

    Passage B attempts to show that that assertion is incompatible with other assertions made

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