LSAT Question Stem

The reasoning in the argument is questionable because 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Flaw question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the argument in the passage. The argument can be summarized as follows:

Premise: Political commentators view recent government policies toward Country X as appeasement.

Premise: Polls show that most people disagree with the political commentators' assessment of government policies toward Country X.

Conclusion: The political commentators' view is fundamentally mistaken.

The structure of the argument is that the author is using the disagreement of most people with the political commentators as evidence that the commentators' view is incorrect.

An "Evaluate" question for this argument could be: "Is the majority opinion always a reliable indicator of the truth?"

Now, let's discuss the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is a Flaw question, which means we are looking for the answer choice that best describes a flaw in the reasoning of the argument.

a) The term "policies" is used ambiguously in the argument.

While it's true that the term "policies" is not explicitly defined, this isn't the main issue with the argument. The argument's flaw lies in its reliance on majority opinion to determine the truth, so this answer choice is not correct.

b) The political commentators discussed in the passage are not identified.

Again, while it's true that the political commentators are not identified, this is not the primary issue with the argument. The main flaw is still the reliance on majority opinion to determine the truth, so this answer choice is not correct.

c) A claim is inferred to be false merely because a majority of people believe it to be false.

This answer choice correctly identifies the flaw in the argument. The author is using the fact that most people disagree with the political commentators as evidence that the commentators' view is incorrect. This is a flawed reasoning because majority opinion is not always a reliable indicator of the truth. Therefore, this is the correct answer.

d) The claim that the political commentators are mistaken is both a premise and a conclusion in the argument.

This answer choice is incorrect because the claim that the political commentators are mistaken is only the conclusion of the argument, not a premise.

e) It is assumed that what is true of persons individually is true of a country as a whole.

This answer choice does not accurately describe the flaw in the argument. The argument's main issue is its reliance on majority opinion to determine the truth, not an assumption about individual opinions reflecting a country as a whole. So, this answer choice is not correct.

In summary, the correct answer is C, as it accurately identifies the flaw in the argument's reasoning: inferring a claim to be false merely because a majority of people believe it to be false.