LSAT--UNSIGNED LETTER

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LSAT--UNSIGNED LETTER

by ssgmatter » Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:17 am
Columnist: If you received an unsigned letter, you
would likely have some doubts about the truth of
its contents. But news stories often include
statements from anonymous sources, and these
are usually quoted with the utmost respect. It
makes sense to be skeptical of these sources, for,
as in the case of the writer of an unsigned letter,
their anonymity makes it possible for them to
plant inaccurate or slanted statements without
ever having to answer for them.
The columnist's argument proceeds by
(A) pointing out that a certain attitude would
presumably be adopted in one situation, in
order to support the claim that a similar
attitude would be justified in an analogous
situation
(B) drawing an analogy between an attitude
commonly adopted in one situation and a
different attitude commonly adopted in another
situation, and establishing that the latter
attitude is better justified than the former
(C) inferring that an attitude would be justified in all
situations of a given type on the grounds that
this attitude is justified in a hypothetical
situation of that type
(D) calling into question a certain type of evidence
by drawing an analogy between that evidence
and other evidence that the argument shows is
usually false
(E) calling into question the motives of those
presenting certain information, and concluding
for this reason that the information is likely to
be false
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by harshavardhanc » Sat Apr 03, 2010 10:57 am
IMO C.
Regards,
Harsha

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by paddle_sweep » Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:21 am
What is the OA?

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by vivek1110 » Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:41 am
A seems to fit the bill. OA?
Is caught between a rock and a hard place!

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by deepak4mba » Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:28 am
I feel its E. What is the OA?

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by chrsrook » Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:38 am
I think its B.

drawing an analogy between an attitude
commonly adopted in one situation(anonymous quotes in newspapers) and a
different attitude commonly adopted in another
situation(skeptical when it comes to unsigned letters), and establishing that the latter
attitude is better justified than the former (makes sense to be skeptical)

OA please.

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by pkw209 » Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:16 pm
I'm between A and C. I'm leaning towards A because C is a little extreme ("all situations")

Please give us the OA.

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by student22 » Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:24 pm
I checked. The official answer is A.

I originally thought B was correct, but on closer inspection, it's a shell game answer. Take a look:


drawing an analogy between an attitude commonly adopted in one situation and a different attitude commonly adopted in another situation, and establishing that the latter attitude is better justified than the former


It's actually the opposite. The author is saying that the former (first) attitude is better justified. It's saying that being skeptical of unsigned sources is the best attitude.

For those interested, the source is the December 2004 LSAT.

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by gmatmachoman » Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:02 pm
harshavardhanc wrote:IMO C.
@harsha Bhai,

I think U missed the analogy being brought in by equating the unsigned letter & news stories!!

A is pretty much ok..what do u say???

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by Testluv » Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:30 pm
(A) pointing out that a certain attitude (DOUBT) would presumably be adopted in one situation (UNSIGNED LETTER), in order to support the claim that a similar attitude (DOUBT) would be justified in an analogous situation (NEWSPAPER ARTICLE QUOTING AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE)

Also, note that the argument is flawed because it ignores the relevant differences between an unsigned letter and a newspaper article citing an anonymous source. Most apparently, in a newspaper there is an intermediary--the journalist. And the journalist presumably operates within a framework of ethical and legal guidelines. So, had this been a flaw question (rather than method of argument), then the correct answer would be the one that pointed out the flaw in the analogy.
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