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LSAT: Logical Reasoning Question #4

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It doesn't surprise me that the critic on our local radio station went off on another tirade today about the city men's choir. This is not the first time that he has criticized the choir. But this time his criticisms were simply inaccurate and unjustified. For ten minutes, he spoke of nothing but the choir's lack of expressiveness. As a professional vocal instructor, I have met with these singers individually; I can state with complete confidence that each of the members of the choir has quite an expressive voice.

Question: Which one of the following is the most serious flaw in the author's reasoning?

Choices:
A. He directs his argument against the critic's character rather than against his claims.
B. He ignores evidence that the critic's remarks might in fact be justified.
C. He cites his own professional expertise as the sole explanation for his defense of the choir.
D. He assumes that a group will have a given attribute if each of its parts has that attribute.
E. He attempts to conclude the truth of a general situation from evidence about one specific situation.



The flaw in the author's reasoning lies in his reasoning from part to whole, which is implied rather than explicitly stated: "Each of the singers has an expressive voice, therefore all the choir, as a group, must be expressive and the critic must be wrong." But just because each voice is expressive alone doesn't necessarily mean that all the voices will be expressive together. (D), therefore, is correct.

(A) Although the author is rather vehement in disputing the critic's claims, he doesn't address the critic's character.
 

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