LSAT 142 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q21

LR Question 21 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Letter to the editor: when your newspaper reported the…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle

CONCLUSION: The newspaper is incorrectly biased against the possibility of spaceships.

REASONING: The newspaper was skeptical of Mr. Hanlon’s claim that he saw a UFO. But if Mr. Hanlon had claimed to see a natural phenomenon, the newspaper wouldn’t have been skeptical, because Mr. Hanlon is trusted by the community.

ANALYSIS: You’re looking for something that contradicts the argument. From the letter to the editor, we know that the report was published, so that’s not at issue.

The complaint is that the newspaper was unduly biased against the claim of UFOs. The right answer must therefore talk about bias or skepticism.

___________

1. CORRECT. This principle suggests the newspaper should have been skeptical unless Mr. Hanlon had extraordinary evidence. As far as we know, Mr. Hanlon had no such evidence. Since we have no proof that Mr. Hanlon met the necessary condition, this principle suggests that the paper was right to be skeptical of Mr. Hanlon.
2. There’s no claim coming from an intermediary source. Mr. Hanlon appears to have spoken directly to the newspaper.
3. This supports the argument. It’s a principle the letter’s author agrees with. We’re looking for a principle that contradicts the argument.
4. This principle tells us what Mr. Hanlon should have done. But the argument is about what the newspaper should have done.
5. This is tempting. But the argument was about bias, not whether the newspaper should have published at all.
   So while the author of the letter to the editor might disagree with this principle, this completely fails to address the argument in the letter. The letter’s argument was about how to present a report once it is published.