LSAT Question Explanation
PT 108, Section 2, Question 24
PrinciplesArgument structure
If we choose to sustain economic growth we should radically modify agricultural techniques.
Increased agricultural production is needed for economic growth. We can preserve biodiversity while increasing agricultural production, but to do so we would need to abandon current agricultural methods.
Explanation
This is a principle question that functions like a sufficient assumption. Our goal is to find an answer choice that helps prove the conclusion.
The argument says we should modify agricultural techniques while increasing production, because new methods will be the only way to maintain biodiversity. This is a moral/ethical/ what we should do judgement. So the assumption the author relies on is that we should maintain biodiversity.
Answer choices
This is unrelated to the conclusion, in which we are increasing agricultural production to maintain biodiversity.
This helps prove that we should change the agricultural methods. Only new methods will preserve biodiversity, and the author says that if we pursue economic growth we should use new methods. The principle that we shouldn't pursue economic growth at the expense of biodiversity helps prove that we should implement new agricultural methods.
This doesn't help prove that we should implement new agricultural methods.
This seems to go against the conclusion the author was saying that we should implement new methods as that is the only way to preserve biodiversity. The author seems to value biodiversity at least as highly as economic growth and production.
This doesn't help prove that we should use the new methods. It just says the only reason to use new methods is increased production. This answer is especially bad because it actually eliminates preserving biodiversity as a valid reason to implement new methods.