June 2000 LSAT Section 2 Question 1

Moralist: TV talk shows are contributing to the moral decline in our country. By constantly being shown the least mo...

cannedfun on April 26, 2023

C versus D

Down to C and D Would love some insight here. They just seem so darn close to each other. I eliminated D because being the least moral in a society wouldn't necessarily make you immoral AND the second speaker concedes there could be a morale decline (but there also might not be)

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Emil-Kunkin on April 27, 2023

Hi, let's start with the difference between the answer choices.

C tells us that in general, tv talk shows are able to change norms. That is, people are influenced to some extent in their views of the norm by tv.

We know that the moralist thinks this is true, since they explicitly say so. The view of the talk show host is murkier. By rejecting the moralists position, the host seems to suggest that tv doesn't influence norms in the case of presenting crazy guests. However, this is not to say that talk shows are unable to ever influence norms. We have no idea if the talk show host thinks that they can even influence norms. So, we cannot say for sure they they would disagree on C.

However we can clearly say they disagree on D. The moralist argues they are causing a decline. The host argues they are not causing a decline. This is a clear point they disagree on, and that's exactly what D says.

Yes the host concedes there may be a decline, but they explicitly rule out the idea that talk shows are a cause. To your point about least moral not equaling immoral, that is true, but not relevant. The moralists argument is about relative morality, and by contrasting them with those who are morally upright, it seems pretty clear the moralist considers them immoral.