LSAT Explanation PT 32, S1, Q19: There is no genuinely altruistic behavior.
LSAT Question Stem
A flaw in the argument is that it
Logical Reasoning Question Type
This is a Flaw question.
Correct Answer
The correct answer to this question is E.
LSAT Question Complete Explanation
The argument in the passage states that there is no genuinely altruistic behavior. It supports this conclusion with the premise that everyone needs a sufficient amount of self-esteem, which depends on believing oneself to be useful and needed. The argument then claims that behavior that appears to be altruistic can be understood as motivated by the desire to reinforce this belief, which is a self-interested motivation.
The structure of the argument is as follows:
- Premise: Everyone needs a sufficient amount of self-esteem, which depends on believing oneself to be useful and needed.
- Premise: Behavior that appears to be altruistic can be understood as motivated by the desire to reinforce the belief of being useful and needed (self-interested motivation).
- Conclusion: There is no genuinely altruistic behavior.
An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Is it possible for a behavior to be both altruistic and motivated by self-interest?"
The question type for this problem is Flaw, and we need to identify the flaw in the argument. The correct answer is E.
Answer choice E is correct because it accurately describes the flaw in the argument: the passage takes for granted that any behavior that can be interpreted as self-interested is in fact self-interested. The argument assumes that just because a behavior can be understood as self-interested, it must be self-interested and not altruistic. However, this is not necessarily true, as it is possible for a behavior to be both altruistic and motivated by self-interest.
Answer choice A is incorrect because the argument does not presuppose that anyone acting out of self-interest is being altruistic. In fact, the argument claims the opposite: that behavior motivated by self-interest is not genuinely altruistic.
Answer choice B is incorrect because the argument does not infer that behavior is altruistic merely because it seems altruistic. Instead, the argument claims that behavior that appears to be altruistic can be understood as self-interested, which contradicts the idea of genuine altruism.
Answer choice C is incorrect because it is irrelevant to the argument. The argument does not fail to consider that self-esteem also depends on maintaining an awareness of one's own value; rather, it focuses on the relationship between self-esteem and believing oneself to be useful and needed.
Answer choice D is incorrect because the argument does not presume, without providing justification, that if one does not hold oneself in sufficient self-esteem one cannot be useful or needed. The argument focuses on the relationship between self-esteem and the belief of being useful and needed, not on whether one can be useful or needed without sufficient self-esteem.