June 2007 LSAT Section 3 Question 16

Philosopher: Nations are not literally persons; they have no thoughts or feelings, and, literally speaking, they per...

Nikki37 on September 15, 2019

How is answer choice B the correct answer

How is answer choice B the correct answer as I don't see anywhere in the premise that talks about citizens having beliefs that are false. The premise say that nations cant survive unless many of its citizens attribute such rights and responsibilities to it. I tried to listen to your reasoning, but it doesn't make sense to me.

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SamA on October 11, 2019

Hello @Nikki37,

I'll try to simplify the problem to demonstrate how B is correct.

Premise 1: Nations have no moral rights or responsibilities.

Premise 2: No nation can survive unless many of its citizens attribute such rights and responsibilities to it.

In order for a nation to survive, its people must believe that the nation itself has moral rights and responsibilities. However, the first premise stated that this is a false belief. It may be helpful to the nation, but false nonetheless. For the nation to succeed, people must see it as a moral entity, even though it isn't. This is best reflected by answer choice B.