LSAT Explanation PT 44, S2, Q23: Columnist: The relief from the drudgery

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the columnist's argument? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Necessary Assumption question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is B. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

The question type for this problem is Necessary Assumption, and we are asked to identify an assumption required by the columnist's argument.

Let's first analyze the argument in the passage. The columnist's conclusion is that modern technology diminishes the overall well-being of its users. The columnist supports this conclusion with the following premises:

1. Modern technology relieves users from physical labor.

2. This relief leads to dependency on technology and the energy systems required to run it.

3. Dependency results in a loss of self-sufficiency.

The argument assumes a relationship between self-sufficiency and well-being. This missing link is the assumption we need to find in the answer choices. To make the argument more understandable, let's use a simple example: imagine a person who uses a washing machine instead of hand-washing clothes. The washing machine makes them dependent on electricity, and they lose the self-sufficiency of washing clothes by hand. The argument assumes that this loss of self-sufficiency reduces their overall well-being.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Does self-sufficiency actually contribute to a person's well-being?"

Now, let's discuss the answer choices:

a) Physical labor is essential to a fulfilling life.

This answer choice is not the assumption we're looking for, as the argument focuses on the loss of self-sufficiency, not the lack of physical labor. The argument claims that there is a reduction in well-being, which is not equivalent to saying that something is essential to a fulfilling life.

b) Self-sufficiency contributes to a person's well-being.

This is the correct answer choice. The argument assumes that self-sufficiency and well-being are related, and this answer choice reflects that relationship. If we negate this assumption and self-sufficiency does not contribute to well-being, then we wouldn't be able to conclude that modern technology reduces the well-being of its users.

c) People are not free if they must depend on anything other than their own capacities.

This answer choice does not provide the necessary link to well-being and is not the supporter assumption we are seeking. The argument in the stimulus does not concern freedom, but rather the relationship between self-sufficiency and well-being.

d) Anything causing a loss in life's charm is unjustifiable unless this loss is compensated by some gain.

This choice is off-topic and incorrect since the columnist does not consider whether anything discussed is justifiable, but rather discusses the outcome.

e) Technology inherently limits the well-being of its users.

This choice does not reflect an assumption required by the argument. The author claims that modern technology, not technology in general, reduces the well-being of its users. Negating this answer choice does not weaken the argument in the stimulus, so we know that this choice cannot be an assumption on which the author's argument relies.