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Prep 34. S2. Q24

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 7:43 pm
by eternallearner
Prep 34. S2. Q24
Can you explain why (B) is the correct answer. It is the question involving mincemeat pie and poison.

Prep 17.Section 2. Question 8
Can you explain why (B) is the right choice? I interpret the question to mean: why must the government seek the cooperation of the fishing industry (ie. turn in samples) to gain an accurate count of dead seabirds. If my interpretation of the question is correct, I do not see why (B) is the right choice.

Thank you!

Re: Prep 34. S2. Q24

Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 8:04 pm
by LSAT Blog
eternallearner wrote:Prep 34. S2. Q24
Can you explain why (B) is the correct answer. It is the question involving mincemeat pie and poison.
This is one of my favorite questions. I love the uncommon fallacies - the ones you're less likely to encounter in real life.

The flaw is that the lawyer is neglecting evidence staring him right in the face that contradicts the conclusion.

It was "unbeknownst" to the defendant that his actions would cause harm to the plaintiff. Despite this, the lawyer concludes that the defendant's actions were malicious. If the defendant didn't know that his actions would cause harm, how can we say it was malicious? We can't.

Similarly, it was unbeknownst to Bruce that the pie was poisonous. Despite this, the speaker concludes that he wanted to eat poison If he didn't know it was poisonous, how can we say he wanted to eat poison? We can't.