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Exam LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning All Questions

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Exam LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning topic 1 question 165 discussion

Actual exam question from Test Prep's LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning
Question #: 165
Topic #: 1
[All LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning Questions]

Physician: Heart disease generally affects men at an earlier age than it does women, who tend to experience heart disease after menopause. Both sexes have the hormones estrogen and testosterone, but when they are relatively young, men have ten times as much testosterone as women, and women abruptly lose estrogen after menopause. We can conclude, then, that testosterone tends to promote, and estrogen tends to inhibit, heart disease.
The physician's argument is questionable because it presumes which one of the following without providing sufficient justification?

  • A. Hormones are the primary factors that account for the differences in age-related heart disease risks between women and men.
  • B. Estrogen and testosterone are the only hormones that promote or inhibit heart disease.
  • C. Men with high testosterone levels have a greater risk for heart disease than do postmenopausal women.
  • D. Because hormone levels are correlated with heart disease they influence heart disease.
  • E. Hormone levels do not vary from person to person, especially among those of the same age and gender.
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Suggested Answer: D 🗳️
The question stem is just a wordy way of asking you to identify the logical flaw in the argument. This is a classic case of confusing correlation with causation. Just because X and Y appear together doesnt mean that X causes Y. Here the physician cites the evidence of high testosterone levels in younger men, and lower estrogen levels in post-menopausal women.
The physician then couples this with the fact that men get heart disease earlier, and women get it later, and finally concludes that testosterone promotes heart disease, and estrogen tends to inhibit disease. Looking at this evidence, you can agree that hormone levels and heart disease do seem to be correlated, but does that necessarily mean that these hormones promote or inhibit disease? Might there be other causes? Couldnt the correlation just be coincidence? Once you have identified this flaw (and it should come naturally after having read numerous causal arguments) you should be able to go quickly to correct answer choice D.

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