Which one of the following could be a complete and accurate list of the courses offered by the summer program?
Chloe-ShoemakerSeptember 13, 2020
Meaning of "But not both"
I watched the game setup video, and I don't understand why it was written out the way that it was. When the first point says, "If mathematics is offered, then either literature or sociology (but not both) is offered," doesn't the words "either" and "or" imply that both of them cannot be present?
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Thanks for the question! So the short story is: “or” on the LSAT allows for both conditions to be true.
The longer story: there are two types of “or,” the “inclusive or” and the “exclusive or.” In real life, we do often use “or” exclusively, meaning that only one of the two conditions can be true at a time. For example, Bob’s in San Francisco or New York. That obviously doesn’t mean that Bob is in both cities; he is either in one, or the other, but not both. But that’s not the only way we use the word “or.” Sometimes we allow for both options to be true at the same time. Suppose you’re at a restaurant, and the waiter asks you if you want sugar or milk in your coffee. Would it be a completely ridiculous thing to say you want both? No, not at all. Or say someone would be happy if he found a $20 bill on the ground or if he won the lottery. Well, if he does both, does that mean he’s not happy? Of course not. This is known as the “inclusive” or, since it allows for the truth of both possibilities. The LSAT will always use the “inclusive” or on the logical reasoning sections and the logic games section. So here, the words “either…or…” don’t imply both of them can’t be present.
Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.
WFTLBDecember 21, 2020
Are these guru games? they don't appear to be, but are in the guru games section.
