Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT23 S3 Q25 Explanation

The end of an action is the intended

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

TopicsMain Conclusion

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Stimulus

The end of an action is the intended outcome of the action and not a mere by-product of the action, and the end’s value is thus the only reason for the action. So while it is true that not every end’s value will justify any means, and even, perhaps, that there is clear that nothing will justify a means except an end’s value.

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
25.

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

Answer choices

  1. Concession8% picked this

    The value of some ends may justify

    The author mentions in passing that there may or may not be an end that justifies all means, but she doesn't commit to either position or attempt to defend it.

  2. Contradicted5% picked this

    One can always justify a given action by appeal to the value of

    The author makes a couple concessions which are basically saying that some ends (intended outcomes) aren't important enough to justify any action, and there might not actually be any end that is important enough to justify any action.

  3. Correct47% picked this

    One can justify an action only by appeal to the value of

    Why this is right

    This is a meaning match for the last claim. To make this harder to match up, they swapped out interchangeable concepts ("end's value" with "intended outcome's value"). In the first sentence, they define an end as "the intended outcome" of an action. So concluding that "nothing will justify a means except an end's value" is equivalent to saying "nothing will justify a means except the value of the action's intended outcome".

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

  4. Contradicted5% picked this

    Only the value of the by-products of an action can justify

    The author brings up by-products briefly, to cast them aside from the conversation at hand. When we're talking ends, we're NOT talking about by-products, we're talking about intended outcomes. The conclusion is about ends, so it is definitely NOT about the by-products of an action.

  5. Means ? Intended Outcome35% picked this

    Nothing can justify the intended outcome of an action except the value of that

    This starts off trying to match the Conclusion, but instead of "nothing will justify a means except ..." it says "nothing will justify the intended outcome except" "the means" is the method by which you try to achieve something. "the end" is the something you're trying to achieve. Intended Outcome = the end of an action Intended Outcome ? the method you use (the means) So this answer is basically saying that the conclusion is "Nothing can justify the end of an action except the end's value."

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