Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT4 S1 Q17 Explanation

The question whether intelligent life

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

TopicsMust be False

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Stimulus

The question whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is certainly imprecise, because we are not sure how different from us something might be and still count as “intelligent life.” Yet we cannot just decide to define “intelligent life” in some more precise way since it is likely that we will only if we leave our definitions open to new, unimagined possibilities.

What this question is testing

Must be False

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
17.

The argument can most reasonably be interpreted as an objection to which one of

Answer choices

  1. Trap4% picked this

    The question whether intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is one that will never

  2. Trap10% picked this

    Whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, our understanding of intelligent

  3. Correct73% picked this

    The question about the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe must be made more precise if we

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap9% picked this

    The question whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is so imprecise as

  5. Trap4% picked this

    The question whether there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe is one we should not spend our

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