LSAT Explanation PT 25, S2, Q9: Consumer advocate: Last year's worldwide alarm

LSAT Question Stem

The reasoning in the consumer advocate's argument is flawed because this argument 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the argument in the passage. The consumer advocate is claiming that last year's worldwide alarm about a computer virus was a fraud. The main conclusion here is that the alarm was a fraud and an effort to stimulate sales of antivirus programs. The premises supporting this conclusion are: 1) companies raised worldwide concern about a destructive virus, 2) only about a thousand cases of damage were reported, and 3) multitudes of antivirus programs were sold.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Did the antivirus programs effectively protect computers from the virus, preventing more cases of damage?"

Now, let's discuss the question type and the answer choices. The question type is Flaw, which asks us to identify the flaw in the consumer advocate's reasoning.

a) This answer choice suggests that the argument restates its conclusion without offering a reason to accept it. However, the argument does provide reasons (the number of cases of damage reported and the number of antivirus programs sold). So, this choice is incorrect.

b) This answer choice claims that the argument fails to acknowledge that antivirus programs might protect against viruses other than the particular one described. However, the argument is focused on the specific alarm about a computer virus and whether it was a fraud, not on the antivirus programs' abilities to protect against other viruses. So, this choice is incorrect.

c) This answer choice asserts that the argument claims one event happening after another shows that the earlier event was the cause of the later one. However, the argument doesn't have a causal conclusion, so this choice is incorrect.

d) This answer choice suggests that the argument uses inflammatory language as a substitute for providing evidence. However, the argument does provide evidence (the number of cases of damage and the number of antivirus programs sold). Additionally, inflammatory language is rarely the correct answer. So, this choice is incorrect.

e) This answer choice points out that the argument overlooks the possibility that the protective steps taken did work and, for many computers, prevented the virus from causing damage. This choice is correct because it addresses the "Evaluate" question we identified earlier and weakens the argument by suggesting that the antivirus programs effectively protected computers from the virus, making the alarm legitimate rather than a fraud.

Therefore, the correct answer is E.