September 2018 LSAT Section 1 Question 8

Which one of the following most accurately describes the author's attitude toward the conclusions that Olsen reaches?

amh on August 10, 2020

Why is C incorrect?

I was interpreting "critical" as in "critical thinking" not as in "criticism," and I thought the author was ambivalent rather than endorsing because the passage never claims Olsen is correct, but instead only says the arguments/conclusions might be true.

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shunhe on August 11, 2020

Hi @amh,

Thanks for the question! So figuring out the author’s attitude toward the conclusions can be pretty tricky sometimes. As you mentioned, the passage never straight up comes out and says that Olsen is correct. But what does the author think overall of Olsen’s arguments? The passage presents her arguments without any critique at all. The word “critical” would imply a critique of some kind, even if it were the “critical” thinking kind, since that’s what you do when you critically think about something—you take a look at its flaws and its pros. And I’d say it’s not really ambivalence; overall, the author seems to endorse the viewpoint. And the reason it’s “implicit” is because as you noted, the author never comes out and says “Olsen’s right.” But the way the author discusses Olsen’s views without critique makes it seem like the author is accepting them. And that’s what supports (B) as the correct answer over (C).

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.