LSAT Explanation PT 30, S2, Q25: Physician: Heart disease generally affects men

LSAT Question Stem

The physician's argument is questionable because it presumes which one of the following without providing sufficient justification? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is D. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

In this passage, the physician presents an argument about the relationship between hormones and heart disease. The argument has the following structure:

Premise 1: Heart disease generally affects men at an earlier age than women, who tend to experience heart disease after menopause.

Premise 2: Both sexes have the hormones estrogen and testosterone, but men have ten times as much testosterone as women when they are relatively young, and women abruptly lose estrogen after menopause.

Conclusion: Testosterone tends to promote, and estrogen tends to inhibit, heart disease.

This is a Flaw question, asking us to identify the questionable presumption in the physician's argument. To better understand the argument, let's use a simple example. Imagine we have two groups of people: Group A has more apples than Group B, and Group B has more bananas than Group A. The physician's argument is similar to concluding that apples promote something (e.g., happiness), and bananas inhibit it, just based on the differences in fruit possession between the two groups.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument might be: "Is there any other factor that could explain the differences in heart disease risks between men and women?"

Now, let's discuss each answer choice:

a) The argument doesn't presume that hormones are the primary factors accounting for the differences in heart disease risks between men and women. It only suggests that testosterone and estrogen play a role in promoting or inhibiting heart disease.

b) The argument doesn't presume that estrogen and testosterone are the only hormones that promote or inhibit heart disease. It only claims that these hormones tend to have those effects.

c) The argument doesn't specifically compare men with high testosterone levels to postmenopausal women. It focuses on general trends in heart disease risks between men and women.

d) Correct! The argument is questionable because it presumes that because hormone levels are correlated with heart disease, they influence heart disease. This is the classic correlation vs. causation issue. Just because two factors are correlated doesn't necessarily mean that one causes the other.

e) The argument doesn't presume that hormone levels do not vary from person to person. It discusses general trends in hormone levels and heart disease risks between men and women.

So, the correct answer is (D), as it points out the flaw in the physician's argument that correlation between hormone levels and heart disease is mistaken for causation.