LSAT Question Explanation
PT 105, Section 1, Question 6
Must be TrueExplanation
Let's consider the sentences of this stimulus as though they are individual facts:
- We should do things that make others more virtuous. Don't do things that make others less virtuous.
- Praise makes less virtuous people become more virtuous. Praise makes more virtuous people become less virtuous.
- Only more virtuous people deserve praise.
We can make a couple inferences here. First of all, if we combine numbers 1 and 2 above, we know that we should praise less virtuous people (because it will make them more virtuous), and we shouldn't praise more virtuous people (it will make them less virtuous).
Secondly, if we combine the inference we just made with 3, we can say that we should praise the people who don't deserve it (because we said we should praise less virtuous people).
This certainly is ironic.
Note that who we should praise and who deserves praise are different concepts. I've seen students get confused and treat those groups as the same.
Answer choices
We don't exactly know who deserves praise "the least." And regardless, people who don't deserve praise will generally be less virtuous and therefore should be praised according to the first two sentences of the stimulus
We shouldn't praise the most virtuous people because that would make them less virtuous, according to the stimulus.
This is the second inference that I talked about in the explanation. Less virtuous people don't deserve praise, but they should be praised. And more virtuous people do deserve praise, but shouldn't be praised.
This is not true. The stimulus tells us we shouldn't praise those who are more virtuous, because it will make them less virtuous.
Very similar to (D), this is not true. We should praise the less virtuous, because it will make them more virtuous.