LSAT Explanation PT 40, S3, Q6: Pain perception depends only partly on

LSAT Question Stem

The claim that pain perception depends only partly on physiology figures in the argument in which one of the following ways? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is an Argument Part question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

Let's first analyze the argument in the passage. The passage discusses pain perception and provides an example from World War II, where injured soldiers requested less morphine than civilians recovering from surgery. The soldiers' response to injury was relief, joy, and euphoria, while civilians saw surgery as depressing and calamitous. The passage concludes that the meaning one attaches to a wound can affect the amount of pain one perceives.

The argument structure is as follows:

- Premise 1: During WWII, injured soldiers requested less morphine than civilians recovering from surgery.

- Premise 2: Soldiers' response to injury was relief, joy, and euphoria, while civilians saw surgery as depressing and calamitous.

- Intermediate Conclusion: The meaning one attaches to a wound can affect the amount of pain one perceives.

- Main Conclusion: Pain perception depends only partly on physiology.

Now, let's identify the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is an Argument Part question, which asks us to determine how the claim that "pain perception depends only partly on physiology" figures in the argument.

Let's go through each answer choice:

a) It is an assumption on which the argument depends.

This answer choice is incorrect because assumptions are always unstated, and the claim in question is clearly stated in the passage.

b) It undermines the argument's main conclusion.

This answer choice is incorrect because the claim actually supports the main conclusion rather than undermining it.

c) It summarizes a position that the argument is meant to discredit.

This answer choice is incorrect because the claim is not summarizing a position the argument is trying to discredit; it is the main conclusion of the argument.

d) It is information that the argument takes for granted.

This answer choice is incorrect because the claim is not taken for granted; it is the main conclusion of the argument and is supported by the premises and intermediate conclusion.

e) It is the main conclusion of the argument.

This answer choice is correct. The claim that "pain perception depends only partly on physiology" is the main conclusion of the argument, which is supported by the premises and intermediate conclusion provided in the passage.

In summary, the correct answer is E, as the claim "pain perception depends only partly on physiology" is the main conclusion of the argument.