Logical Reasoning

PT159 · S3 · Q20 Essayist: Since ancient times humans have relied on myths

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

  • 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

Essayist: Since ancient times humans have relied on myths to try to explain our place in the cosmos.

Conclusion (So)

Science falls short of complete truth.

Evidence (amply demonstrated by)

You can measure the truth of science (or myth) based on how much it helps humans cope with the human condition.

Science is responsible, to a considerable degree, for the breakdown of society's key institutions. (i.e. science isn't completely helping us cope with the human condition?)

Evaluate

This is a super weird argument, designed to obfuscate as much as possible where the actual conclusion is. On Main Conclusion / Role, we know that 80% of the time it's an upside down argument, with the conclusion appearing earlier than the evidence.

Because we read with an eager ear for early conclusions, we might have reasonably suspected that , because the following claim sounds like support (it says something that applies to both science and myth).

But the final sentence screams out Conclusion + Evidence, because it's structured,

Goal

Look for a restatement of "science falls short of complete truth". It's supported by the end of the final sentence and by the third sentence.

20.

Which one of the following most accurately states the main conclusion of the essayist's argument?

  1. Science is at least in

    Premise

    Only about 20% of the time on Main Conclusion will the final claim be the conclusion, so we're always wary about picking that. Science's responsibility for the breakdown of key institutions is the evidence the essayist offers for science's falling short of complete truth. The sentence says that fact "amply demonstrated" the conclusion. A fact that demonstrates something is a premise, not the point being demonstrated.

    21% picked this

  2. Science is no more true

    Unsupported

    The conclusion is just that science falls short of complete truth; it isn't a comparison to mth. The essayist says science and Homeric myth are alike in one respect, that both try to explain our place in the cosmos, and that both are judged by the same coping standard. That is not a claim that they come out equal under that standard.

    10% picked this

  3. Correct

    Science is only partially true.

    Why this is right

    This is our best match for "science falls short of complete truth". You're either the full/complete truth, or you're partial/incomplete truth, and the author is picking the latter. This is based on the supporting idea that we judge the truth of science based on how well it helps us cope with the human condition, and the fact that science is partly responsible for the breakdown of society's key institution (so it's not being totally helpful).

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

    52% picked this

  4. Science is merely a myth.

    Too Strong

    "Falls short of complete truth" ≠ "merely a myth". The essayist says science is like myth "in this respect," meaning in its attempt to explain our place in the cosmos, but is never saying that science and myth are indistinguishable.

    1% picked this

  5. Science, like stories about the

    Premise

    This is the opening comparison: both science and Homeric stories try to explain our place in the cosmos. But this sounds nothing like our conclusion, which is that "science falls short of complete truth". There is no support offered for this idea, so it can't be a conclusion.

    15% picked this

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