Q20

[LSAT-Chang]

I was debating between C and E, and ultimately chose E because I thought it was more "general" and thought C was too narrow. Now that I look at it.. is E wrong because of the word "ordinary view"? We have no evidence to support the idea that "one should obey the law because it is the law" is an "ordinary view." Am I correct? But then lines 5-11 is confusing since it says "i.e. we GENERALLY have a moral duty to obey a law simply because it is the law"... so I thought generally = ordinary... please help!!

[bbirdwell]

I think it's totally reasonable to equate "ordinary" with "most people" or "commonly supposed."

The reason E is wrong has to do with the part before the comma. The opponents have no opinion regarding whether philosophical anarchism conflicts with the view that "one should obey the law because it is the law."

This is the view that is "commonly supposed" (line 5). The view of the opponents comes at the end of that paragraph and has two points: 1) and 2).

[nflamel69]

Is it also reasonable to get rid of E because it is limited in scope? It doesn't address paragraph 2 and it's relationship to author's 2 points at all..

[bmoswald]

Could someone help me rule out D? Now that I see C is correct I understand, but D still looks like an appealing answer to me.

Thanks!

[csta5315]

Hi, could someone explain why C is the correct answer here?

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Good one csta5315!

The author's thesis (conclusion, main point, etc.) is in lines 22-23. Answer choice (C) best expresses the view in lines 22-23, while carefully substituting for the general term the specific claims found in lines 17-21.

Incorrect Answers
(A) is out of scope. The author's thesis is that philosophical anarchism does not entail certain views, not that those views are counterintuitive.
(B) contradicts the passage. The author defends the philosophical anarchists by denying two views that some commentators suggest are implications of philosophical anarchism. The author says that those ideas are not implied by philosophical anarchism.
(D) is unsupported. This answer plays with the meaning of the text found in lines 54-57, but the author's thesis is found in lines 22-23.
(E) is too narrow. This answer fails to include the first counterintuitive implication that some commentators say follows from philosophical anarchism.

[MayaM405]

Hi!

I'm having a hard time finding D unsupported. I see why C is correct but still having a hard time ruling out D.

Why aren't lines 12-15 and 37-40 enough support for answer choice D?

[ohthatpatrick]

Hey, sorry for the delayed response.

When you're doing Main Point questions, you should be very specifically aware of answers that are "True, but too narrow".

Suppose I asked you "What was the main point of the movie 'Titanic'?" (which I've never seen, full disclosure) and there were these two answers:

(A) Leo's character and Kate's character fall in love
(B) Leo's character and Kate's character fall in love, and the Titanic sinks


I mean, sure, (A) is accurate in that what it describes DID happen in the movie. But it would be incomplete to talk about Titanic without mentioning the fact that the ship sinks and most people die.

You supporting lines for (D) are accurate, but the supporting lines for (C) are lines 15 - 57.

Since (C) wraps its arms around more of the passage, it's a better answer to a question that asks for the main point.

(D) specifically ignores the 2nd paragraph, which addresses the 1st of two concerns cited again philosophical anarchism.

Another way to put it: (D) is a subset of (C). The 2nd half of (C) covers what (D) talks about, but the 1st half of (C) covers OTHER stuff in the passage as well.

Hope this helps.