June 2019 LSAT Section 2 Question 15

The better we understand the behavior and ecological niche of an endangered species, the better chance we have of sav...

Shula on June 9 at 06:24AM

C vs. D

The passage says, "the more individuals we study, the better we understand the species. The more we understand an endangered species, the more likely it is we can save it. And So...?" Although the passage doesn't mention which one is more important than which one, I feel like answer choice D "to save endangered species it is more important to acquire the right kind of knowledge than to take action" sounds partially right because the more we study, the better we can save them. It's like studying is the first thing to do on the list, that's why I thought it could be more important than taking action. Overall, what action can I take if I know nothing about the species I want to save? Could someone help me out here? I would really appreciate more clarification.

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Emil-Kunkin on June 11 at 01:04PM

I would start by attacking D, and I think you realize this: there's absolutely nothing in the passage supporting the idea that knowledge is more important than action. The passage tells us knowledge is imperative but that doesn't tell us anything about its importance relative to taking action. This also just doesn't pass the BS test, it seems pretty unlikely and counterintuitive that knowledge is more important than action. Note this doesn't eliminate it but it's does mean that the passage actually has to say that.

The passage does say C however. As a species becomes closer to being endangered, there are fewer individuals left in that species. Since the passage tells us that fewer individuals makes getting knowledge harder and that knowledge makes saving easier, then we know that as they get closer to extinction it gets harder to save them.

Shula on June 13 at 09:01PM

Thank you so much, Emil-Kunkin! That really helps! What is the BS test? I was wondering what it is every time I saw a tutor mentioning it. Thank you so much!

Emil-Kunkin on June 25 at 08:31PM

Haha, that would be that if an answer choice only makes sense with contrived reasoning that sounds like complete BS, it's almost certainly wrong!