June 2016 LSAT Section 3 Question 17

Photographs show an area of Europa, a moon of Jupiter, where the icy surface appears to have buckled as a result of t...

Parker-Zopp on May 22, 2018

Subsidiary Conclusion

How is the claim that there is a warm sea under the ice a subsidiary conclusion? I can see how it supports the main conclusion, but it seems like a premise to me.

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Mehran on May 22, 2018

Hi @Parker-Zopp, thanks for your post. Great question. Remember that a subsidiary conclusion is (a) supported by at least one premise, and (b) itself functions as support for the main or overall conclusion. This is why the SC here "seems like a premise" - in terms of argument structure, SCs are premises in support of main conclusions.

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