November 2019 LSAT Section 2 Question 16

Philosopher: Groups are not the type of entity that can be worthy of praise or blame. Blameworthiness implies conscie...

devon on May 22, 2023

"a general conclusion" semantics

(1) If the incorrect answer choice which reads "it is cited as an instance of a general conclusion drawn in the argument" were to use the language "subsidiary/intermediary conclusion" in lieu of "a general conclusion," would it be correct? To me, it seems that the statement about nations seems more as an instance of the intermediary conclusion than support for it. Is an instance of a conclusion always support for it? (2) Can't a subsidiary conclusion be considered meaningfully general? And if so, is it not then "a general conclusion" *emphasis on the 'a'*. As always, thanks for taking the time to answer - much appreciated.

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Emil-Kunkin on May 26, 2023

Hi, I think the first sentence is an intermediary conclusion, and the claim that nations have don't have a conscience supports the first sentence. In this case I think that the because/therefore test isn't very useful but we should not that the claim in question is being used as an example of the first sentence. A nation is an example of a group that can't be praiseworthy because it doesn't have a conscience.

I think that the term general conclusion refers to the overall conclusion of the argument, so a subsidiary conclusion wouldn't qualify.