December 2003 LSAT Section 2 Question 19

Professor: It has been argued that freedom of thought is a precondition for intellectual progress, because freedom o...

hfatima1 on September 12, 2020

Explanation

I got the right answer. However, it was by process of elimination and I still was not to sure of the answer choice. Is there another way to approach this question or is diagramming a must?

Create a free account to read and take part in forum discussions.

Already have an account? log in

shunhe on September 12, 2020

Hi @hfatima1,

Thanks for the question! You don’t really need to diagram this one in my opinion, it’s kind of complicated. The way I’d think about it is just this: we’re told that some people think that freedom of thought is a precondition for intellectual progress, but actually, it’s not. Because for intellectual progress, you need intellectual discipline. So what’s kind of going on here? The conclusion is talking about how freedom of thought isn’t necessary for intellectual progress, and the premise suddenly brings in intellectual discipline. Well, that means we need something to link that idea of intellectual discipline and intellectual progress. Specifically, it seems like the author thinks they clash with each other, you can’t have both of them. So that’s the kind of answer choice we should look for, and that’s what (C) says.

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