LSAT 138 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q23

LR Question 23 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Ethicist: Only when we know a lot about the events that led to…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Tolstoy is wrong to say that if we knew enough then we wouldn’t believe in free will.

REASONING: We can sometimes blame people for their actions, but only when we know a lot about their actions.

ANALYSIS: Let’s review what the stimulus tells you:

1. You can judge people.
2. You can only judge people if you know a lot about their actions
3. Tolstoy says that if you know a lot about actions, you won’t believe in free will.

Judge ➞ Know a lot ➞ No free will

That chain is Tolstoy’s idea. We need to prove it wrong. You’re allowed to use intuition. Most people would find it strange to judge people who have no free will.

If judgement requires free will, then Tolstoy is wrong, because the stimulus says we can judge people. This is answer C. Here’s the diagram for C (Judging now has two necessary conditions):

Judge ➞ Know a lot AND Free will ➞ Tolstoy wrong

Tolstoy is wrong because he said knowledge about actions always leads to lack of belief in free will.

___________

1. This doesn’t help show that Tolstoy is wrong. We are judging people. If Tolstoy is right, we are in fact judging them for things beyond their control.  This answer only shows we shouldn’t do that.
2. The question doesn’t talk about whether someone is responsible for an act. It’s about whether we believe they are responsible.
3. CORRECT. See the explanation above.
4. The stimulus doesn’t talk about the degree of judgement we’re able to make. Irrelevant.
5. This incorrectly negates Tolstoy’s premise. It doesn’t help show that Tolstoy’s claim is wrong.