Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT158 S2 Q24 ExplanationFilmmaker: Many people feel that

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

TopicsSufficient Assumption

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Stimulus

Filmmaker: Many people feel that independent films have more integrity as works of art than films produced by major studios, since independent films are typically less conventional than major studio films. However, like major studios, all independent filmmakers need to make profits on their films, and this affects the artistic decisions films do not have absolute integrity as works of art.

What this question is testing

Sufficient Assumption

Conclusion

Most indie films do not have absolute artistic integrity. Sorry, Sundance.

Evidence

Every independent filmmaker needs to make money, and in most cases that profit motive creeps into the artistic decisions. The "I have to actually sell this thing" factor is shaping the art.

Gap

So profit affects decisions — but why does that kill "absolute integrity"? The argument skipped a step. It needs a principle that says: any whiff of profit motivation in artistic decisions and the work's absolute integrity is gone. Without that bridge, the evidence (profit affects decisions) just hangs there without connecting to the conclusion (no absolute integrity).

Goal

Find the missing link: if profit needs affected ANY artistic decisions, then absolute integrity is out the window.

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

The question
24.

The filmmaker's conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following

Answer choices, explained

  1. Bad Conclusion Match20% picked this

    A creation has absolute integrity as a work of art if the artistic decisions made in creating it were unaffected by

    This answer says a creation has absolute integrity IF artistic decisions were not affected by profit. That is the wrong conditional direction. The argument needs: if artistic decisions WERE affected by profit, then the work LACKS absolute integrity. This answer provides the converse: if decisions were NOT affected by profit, then the work HAS integrity. The converse of a conditional is not logically equivalent to the conditional itself. This answer tells us what happens when profit is absent (integrity is present) but says nothing about what happens when profit is present. A film whose decisions were affected by profit might still have integrity under this principle — the principle simply does not address that case. The direction of the conditional matters enormously, and this answer points it the wrong way.

  2. Correct70% picked this

    If any of the artistic decisions made in creating something were affected by the need to make profits, then that creation does not have

    Why this is right

    This answer provides exactly the missing bridge. It states: if any artistic decisions in creating something were affected by the need to make money, then the creation does not have absolute integrity as a work of art. Now trace the logic: the premises establish that in most independent films, artistic decisions were affected by profit needs. This new assumption says any profit-affected artistic decisions means no absolute integrity. Apply the assumption to the premise: most independent films had profit-affected artistic decisions, so most independent films lack absolute integrity. The conclusion follows with certainty. Note how the qualifier "any" in this answer is crucial — it means even a single profit-motivated decision is sufficient to destroy absolute integrity. This makes the assumption powerful enough to guarantee the conclusion from the established premises.

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

  3. Unrelated to Goal3% picked this

    The creations of individuals have more integrity as works of art, on average, than

    Whether individual creations have more integrity than corporate ones on average is a comparative claim that does not connect the argument's evidence to its conclusion. The argument needs a principle that links profit-affected decisions to the loss of absolute integrity. This answer compares two categories of creators (individuals versus groups) on average integrity levels — a different dimension entirely. Even if individuals produce higher-integrity work on average, this tells us nothing about whether profit-influenced decisions specifically undermine absolute integrity. The argument is not comparing independent films to studio films in its conclusion; it is making a standalone claim about most independent films. This comparative principle cannot generate that standalone conclusion.

  4. Unrelated to Goal3% picked this

    The unconventionality of a creation has no bearing on its integrity as a

    Unconventionality having no bearing on integrity eliminates one potential measure of integrity but does not establish what does determine integrity. The argument mentions unconventionality only in the background context (people think indie films have more integrity because they are less conventional). The argument's actual reasoning chain is about profit affecting decisions leading to loss of absolute integrity. Whether unconventionality matters to integrity is a side issue that does not connect profit influence to integrity loss. Removing unconventionality from the integrity equation does not establish that profit influence destroys integrity. The argument needs a positive principle connecting profit to integrity loss, not a negative principle removing an irrelevant factor.

  5. Bad Trigger Match3% picked this

    A creation has no integrity as a work of art unless the artistic decisions made in creating it were unaffected by

    This answer says a creation has no integrity unless artistic decisions were unaffected by profit. At first glance, this might seem similar to the correct answer, but the wording creates a critical difference. This answer uses "no integrity" rather than "no absolute integrity." The argument's conclusion is specifically about "absolute integrity" — a particular, highest standard. This answer applies to integrity in general, which is a stronger claim than what the argument needs. More importantly, the argument only claims most independent films lack "absolute" integrity — preserving the possibility that they have some integrity. An assumption that profit influence means "no integrity" at all would overshoot the conclusion. The correct answer precisely targets "absolute integrity" to match the conclusion's specific qualifier.

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