December 2009 LSAT
Section 1
Question 17
Consumer: If you buy a watch at a department store and use it only in the way it was intended to be used, but the wa...
Replies
Christopher on June 15, 2018
@Ananyak, you're getting at the point by bringing up "by this very reasonable standard" phrase. We can deduce from the argument that the individual purchased a watch from Binghams store which is NOT in a department store, that the watch quit working the next day, and the consumer is now arguing that he or she should be given a refund. The consumer is arguing that (in essence) "if I had bought this at a department store and only used it as intended, they would give me a refund because it quit working the next day. Therefore, since this standard is fair, even though you're not a department store, you should give me a refund because I just bought it yesterday, and it quit working today." However, the consumer does not specify whether he or she used the watch only as intended, so you're missing part of the puzzle, which is what the question is asking you to fill in.To be clear, you're only evaluating the consumer's logic and not guaranteeing that Binghams will give the refund. The consumer is making the leap from department store to Binghams in the hopes that the person they're dealing with at Binghams will appreciate the parallel and give a refund. However, the conclusion that Binghams should give a refund does not follow if the consumer caused the watch to fail by using it as a hammer (not its intended purpose). Using the watch only as intended is a condition of getting a refund at a department store, so for the consumer to reach the conclusion that Binghams should give a refund relies on the assumption that (D) the consumer did not use the watch in a way contrary to its intended purpose.
Whether or not Binghams accepts the argument and process a refund is irrelevant, therefore the leap from department store to Binghams is not at issue. You're simply trying to complete the consumer's argument which was missing a key premise.
Does that make sense?
AnanyaK on June 23, 2018
Yes that makes complete sense. Thank you so much for your help!