Use of the term "Hence" -- On PT#14 and throughout LSAT Forum

[john2018]

On Practice Test #14 (Feb. 1995), Section 2, Problem 9.

The second sentence of the stimulus states, "Hence, doctoral dissertations should not be required in the humanities."

Answer choice C is correct because "doctoral dissertations should not be required in the humanities" is what the argument is attempting to establish, AKA, is the conclusion of the argument, yes?

Answer choice B, on the other hand, says that "doctoral dissertations should not be required in the humanities" is an example illustrative of the conclusion rather than the conclusion itself. This answer choice is wrong because it is not merely an example, but the conclusion of the argument, yes?

This made me think about the use of the term "Hence". Does the use of the term "Hence" always mean "Therefore" or "It can therefore be concluded that" or "In conclusion" RATHER THAN mean "For example"? If it meant "for example" instead of "in conclusion", then Answer Choice B seems like it could be correct here.

What does the term "hence" really mean on the LSAT? And what should we inherently think when we see it on the LSAT? Do we take it as "for example", or "in conclusion/therefore"?

[gatesome]

hence == therefore

[BPlaura]

Yep, "hence" means therefore - not just on the LSAT, but in general.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Just want to chime in to say that a dictionary is your friend. I routinely look up words I don't know. Not just for the LSAT, but for life.

LSAT words have the same meanings as ordinary words (partial exception below). Especially words like "Hence" and any words that aren't "quantifiers". If you have ANY hesitation with a structural word, you need to look it up, and master it. Make a list.

Protip for those on macs:

1. Press cmd + space to open spotlight
2. Type the word
3. Scroll down spotlight results to the dictionary app and click it
4. The default dictionary should be the oxford english dictionary, the best dictionary of the english language. (technically, it's the New Oxford American Dictionary, which is a condensed but very thorough edition)

Voila, instant vocabulary improvement in a few seconds. Read all the definitions, English words are nuanced.

Exception: There are a few words that arguably have an LSAT specific definition. For instance, "likely" on the LSAT means "most". I am not convinced that the normal dictionary definition of likely is "most", though I am not convinced it's not, either. But for the LSAT I know that likely, probably, usually etc. all mean most.

In general though, even quantifiers match regular definitions. I've never seen "many" refer to "3" on the LSAT. The word simply doesn't have that meaning in English.