LSAT Explanation PT 24, S3, Q10: All material bodies are divisible into

LSAT Question Stem

The final conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Sufficient Assumption question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the argument in the passage. The passage contains two premises and a conclusion. The first premise is "All material bodies are divisible into parts, and everything divisible is imperfect." This can be diagrammed as:

Material Body (MB) -> Divisible (D) -> Imperfect (I)

The second premise is that "the spirit is not a material body." We can represent this as:

Spirit (S) -> ~MB

The conclusion is that the spirit is not a material body. Now, let's create an "Evaluate" question for this argument: "Is the spirit perfect or imperfect?"

The question type of this problem is Sufficient Assumption, which means we're looking for an answer choice that, if assumed, would guarantee the conclusion logically follows.

Let's discuss each answer choice:

a) Everything divisible is a material body.

This answer choice does not help us determine if the spirit is perfect or imperfect, so it doesn't guarantee the conclusion.

b) Nothing imperfect is indivisible.

This answer choice is a contrapositive of the first premise, but it doesn't help us determine whether the spirit is perfect or not.

c) The spirit is divisible.

This answer choice would imply that the spirit is imperfect, but it doesn't guarantee the conclusion that the spirit is not a material body.

d) The spirit is perfect. (Correct Answer)

This answer choice implies that the spirit is not imperfect. If we recall the contrapositive of the first premise (Perfect -> Indivisible -> ~Material Body), we can see that if the spirit is perfect, it leads to the conclusion that the spirit is not a material body. Thus, this answer choice guarantees the conclusion.

e) The spirit is either indivisible or imperfect.

This answer choice doesn't guarantee the conclusion because it presents two possibilities for the spirit, but we need to establish a definitive relationship between the spirit and being perfect or imperfect to reach the conclusion.

In summary, the correct answer is D because it guarantees the conclusion by establishing that the spirit is perfect, which leads to it being not a material body based on the contrapositive of the first premise.