Juan: Unlike the ancient Olympic games on which they are based, the modern Olympics include professional as well as a...
Julie-VAugust 21, 2019
(A)&(C)
Hi LSAT Max,
I was stuck between these two choices but eventually went with (C) because I wasn't sure if "ideals of the modern olympics" referred to the last part of Juan's argument. Any clarification on why (A) is the better choice over (C) would be greatly appreciated!
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I had this same debate between answer choices. Can someone please explain?
LucasDecember 19, 2019
I went with A because you must look at what both are discussing and see in both a mentioned. They are are discussing whether professionals should or should not compete with amateurs. I went with A because the first guy doesn't think professionals should, and the second does think they should
shunheJanuary 9, 2020
Hi everyone,
Thanks for the question! Let’s take a look at the arguments first. Juan thinks that having professional athletes violates the spirit of fairness essential to the games—he thinks that the ideals of the modern Olympics have to do with fairness, and having professional athletes isn’t fair to amateurs. Michiko, on the other hand, thinks that professionals should be allowed to compete, because the idea of the modern Olympics is to showcase the world’s finest athletes. Clearly, there’s a disagreement here about the core ideals of the modern Olympics, and as a result, a disagreement about whether professional athletes should be allowed or not. This is what (A) tells us. Juan thinks that professional athletes aren’t in accord with the ideals of the modern Olympics, which he thinks includes fairness. Michiko, on the other hand, thinks professional athletes are fine because he thinks it’s more about showcasing the world’s finest athletes. Thus, (A) is the correct answer.
(C) is incorrect because the main point Juan and Michiko are arguing about isn’t whether or not the athletes in the modern Olympics are the world’s finest. Michiko just says that the point is to show off the world’s finest athletes, but isn’t committed to a position about the reality of how good olympic athletes are. Similarly, Juan just says that professionals are better than amateurs generally speaking. But that doesn’t imply that he’s committed to a position about the reality of the best athletes competing in the Olympics either. Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any further questions if you have them.
