Flawed Parallel ReasoningDiff: Medium
Logic Breakdown
Passage Summary: Professor A's tests are harder than Professor B's, so any single question on Professor A's test must be a hard question.
Conclusion: A specific question about dinosaurs must be difficult.
Reasoning: The question appeared on an exam from a professor whose tests are generally harder than another professor's tests.
Analysis: This argument contains two distinct flaws: a 'whole-to-part' fallacy and a 'relative-to-absolute' fallacy. Just because a test is harder on average (relative) doesn't mean every single question on it is difficult (absolute). We need to find an answer that concludes a specific part has an absolute quality simply because the whole it belongs to has a relative quality compared to something else.
Conclusion: A specific question about dinosaurs must be difficult.
Reasoning: The question appeared on an exam from a professor whose tests are generally harder than another professor's tests.
Analysis: This argument contains two distinct flaws: a 'whole-to-part' fallacy and a 'relative-to-absolute' fallacy. Just because a test is harder on average (relative) doesn't mean every single question on it is difficult (absolute). We need to find an answer that concludes a specific part has an absolute quality simply because the whole it belongs to has a relative quality compared to something else.
Passage Stimulus
Passage Redacted
Unlock Full Passage20.Which one of the following exhibits both of the logical flaws exhibited in the argument above?
Correct Answer
B
B mirrors both flaws: it infers a property of a part (a poem) from a comparative claim about the whole (the book is better than the author’s other books) and treats ‘better than the others’ as if it ensured absolute quality (‘so it must be good’).
Upgrade Your Prep
Ready to go beyond free explanations?
LSAT Perfection is the #1 modern LSAT prep platform, trusted by thousands of students for comprehensive test strategies, advanced drilling, and full analytics on every PrepTest.
Detailed explanations for 59 PrepTests
Advanced drillset builder
Personalized analytics
Built-in Wrong Answer Journal