LSAT Explanation PT 31, S3, Q4: A favorable biography of a politician

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following principles, if established, does most to justify the position advanced by the passage? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Principle question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's begin by analyzing the argument in the passage. The passage discusses a favorable biography of a politician that omits certain incriminating facts. The author of the book claims that he is not accountable for misleading readers because he was unaware of these facts when he wrote the book. However, the passage argues that ignorance of this kind cannot be used to evade blame for misleading readers in the case of a biographer.

The structure of the argument is as follows:

1. Premise: The biography omits incriminating facts.

2. Premise: The author claims ignorance of these facts.

3. Conclusion: Ignorance cannot be used to evade blame for misleading readers in the case of a biographer.

To make this more understandable, let's consider a simple example: Imagine a teacher who writes a report about a student, leaving out important details about the student's poor behavior. The teacher claims they didn't know about these details. However, it is the teacher's responsibility to know such details, so they cannot use ignorance as an excuse for not including them in the report.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Were the omitted facts significant enough to impact the readers' understanding of the politician?"

Now, let's discuss the question type and answer choices. The question is a Principle question, asking us to identify the principle that justifies the position advanced by the passage.

a) This answer choice talks about the perception of the biography being favorable or unfavorable, which is not the focus of the passage. The passage is concerned with the author's responsibility for omitting facts. Thus, this choice is incorrect.

b) This answer choice focuses on deliberately omitting facts to mislead readers. However, the passage is about the author's ignorance of the facts, not deliberate omission. Therefore, this choice is not correct.

c) This answer choice discusses omitting facts that would have supported the author's view. The passage, however, is concerned with the omission of incriminating facts that were available to anyone. Thus, this choice is incorrect.

d) This answer choice focuses on the author alone having access to the omitted facts. The passage, on the other hand, discusses facts that were widely available when the biography was written. Therefore, this choice is not correct.

e) This answer choice states that an author of a biography should be blamed for readers' misperceptions caused by omitting facts that were widely available when the biography was written. This aligns with the passage's conclusion that ignorance cannot be used to evade blame for misleading readers in the case of a biographer. Thus, the correct answer is E.