Math and Philosophy on the LSATs? Forum

[dizzle]

Ive read that Math and Philosophy are some of the main foundations behind the LSATs.. my question is : what parts of Math and Philosophy? Id like to go back and study these Math/Phil parts and understand the foundation behind the LSATs. Thanks

[dakatz]

Ive read that Math and Philosophy are some of the main foundations behind the LSATs.. my question is : what parts of Math and Philosophy? Id like to go back and study these Math/Phil parts and understand the foundation behind the LSATs. Thanks

There aren't specific things that you would study in math and philosophy. Its PEOPLE who study math and philosophy tend to do well on the LSAT. Its most likely a case of self-selection. People who do math have very logical minds most of the time, and logic games tend to come very easy for them. Philosophy people do tons of reading and learn to spot logical errors and, study the art of argument. They don't study specific things that would directly help on the LSAT.

[OneKnight]

Haha, sorry to invade this thread, but I glanced over the title and first read it as:
Methamphetamines and the LSAT?



Sorry, carry on.

[gabewatch]

IMO there isnt anything i would really call math on the LSAT. I would imagine when people talk about math they are referring exclusively to the games section (analytical reasoning). But its not really what I would call math, and its not the type of thing that reviewing parts of formal math would help with. In regards to philosophy I think a formal logic class might help on the analytical reasoning, and on some of the logical reasoning questions, but there are just a few key concepts to take, and most of the LSAT review books have these spelled out for you (like conditional arguments, and when something is necessary versus required etc). I think you would be better off using LSAT study books, and doing a ton of practice questions rather than reviewing these concepts in books that werent meant for the LSAT, thats just my opinion tho.

[Flanker1067]

"s words"

[CaptainSnuggleBunny]

I'm not going to give you the right answer, those above have already provided it. Instead I'll give you the sort of answer you're looking for: game theory.

TTC has a sweet video course out there, and that is what I think you want.

[09042014]

Ive read that Math and Philosophy are some of the main foundations behind the LSATs.. my question is : what parts of Math and Philosophy? Id like to go back and study these Math/Phil parts and understand the foundation behind the LSATs. Thanks

You heard wrong. Buy the powerscore logic games, logic reasoning, and reading comprehension bibles. Read them, do them, then do a lot of practice tests.

It is a skills test, not a knowledge test.

[sumus romani]

With regard to Math, the LSAT tests a basic understanding of some parts of statistics. It is hard to call that Math, per se, since the field of Math is so expansive, but I guess one might want to make the connection. Having said that, I don't claim that the best way to prepare for the LSAT is to take a statistics course in a math or econ department: rather, take an informal logic course in a philosophy department. Then do the usual LSAT prep that people recommend.

With regard to Philosophy, there is not much philosophical content tested. Sometimes a question will involve a principle of philosophical ethics--I've seen questions involving theories commonly known as Cultural Relativism, Simple Subjectivism, Utilitarianism and even one using a Rawlsian principle of justice. Once in a blue moon, an odd question will involve other aspects of philosophy, such as the mind/body problem, etc. But, having said that, I don't recommend studying philosophy to learn *content*. Rather, it is just that the makers of the LSAT are often trained analytic philosophers and think like such. So, studying analytic philosophy can help one learn how to identify and analyze arguments, identify necessary and sufficient conditions, etc. Philosophy majors do well on the LSAT on average, and in my opinion, this is so *in part* because of their philosophical background, though others might deny this. It is hard to see their argument though, since any decent analytic philosophy class will beat into students the different between necessary and sufficient conditions, argument analysis, etc. Still, my guess is that LSAT-specific prep beats all.

[BioEBear2010]

Ive read that Math and Philosophy are some of the main foundations behind the LSATs.. my question is : what parts of Math and Philosophy? Id like to go back and study these Math/Phil parts and understand the foundation behind the LSATs. Thanks

You heard wrong. Buy the powerscore logic games, logic reasoning, and reading comprehension bibles. Read them, do them, then do a lot of practice tests.

It is a skills test, not a knowledge test.

It is also partially a logic test. I took an introductory logic class after taking the LSAT, and I saw a ton of overlap in the material.