Q13 - All societies recognize certain

[sbrandt85]

If all societies recognize certain rules as duties, and that there are duties that can be harmful to self-interest; shouldn't some duties take priority over others then? That is answer D.

[rhb5r]

I originally picked D as well. The problem with it, I think, is that the stimulus only mentions one type of duty ("certain rules that societies define as duties"). There is no mention of personal duties or any other for that matter.

Hope that helps!

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Thanks for your explanation!

Yeah, there's no distinction of duties into different kinds. Without that distinction we cannot say that some duties take priority to other duties. The only discussion of priority is the comparison between duties and people's self-interest. And here the information is clear - that people's self-interest is not sufficient grounds to neglect one's duties.

If all societies recognize certain rules as duties, and that there are duties that can be harmful to self-interest; shouldn't some duties take priority over others then?

Not necessarily. Remember the harm to self-interest is apparently not enough to outweigh the duty. But that's still not a comparison amongst duties.

To arrive at answer choice (C) we know that all societies recognize that some rules are so crucial they are defined as duties. Additionally the mere notion of what a duty is, contains a statement that recognizes that self-interest can sometimes clash with one's duties.

(A) is unsupported. How can we know what the actual benefits really are? This information doesn't discuss actual benefits.
(B) is out of scope. Choosing to follow a rule and being capable of doing so are two completely different ideas.
(D) compares duties with each other, and we don't know anything about which duty might take precedence over another.
(E) is out of scope. The right of a society to expect something is not mentioned.

Hope that helps!

[LSAT-Chang]

Hey Matt, so "self-interest" here is not a "duty" -- that is basically what you are saying, right? I too fell for (D) because I thought there were two duties: 1) following rules; 2) self-interest.

[sukim764]

Hey Matt, so "self-interest" here is not a "duty" -- that is basically what you are saying, right? I too fell for (D) because I thought there were two duties: 1) following rules; 2) self-interest.

Yes, I believe that is what he's trying to say. Self-interest is not classified as a duty. The correct choice C distinguishes the two categories as being separate, though I must admit that D is attractive at first glance.

[soyeonjeon]

I chose D as well after debating between C & D.

I thought that "others" in answer choice D refers to self-interest.
If the author did not explicitly indicate "other duties" how do you know that "others" refer specifically to duties?

Thanks always

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Unfortunately this is a grammer issue. "Others" is an indefinite pronoun which must refer back to the plural noun preceding it. "Duties" is the plural noun preceding it, so "others" refers back to "duties."

Also, "self-interest" wasn't mentioned. It'd be tough for an indefinite pronoun to refer back to something not mentioned. But "duties" was mentioned, making it very easy for "others" to refer back to "duties."

[sunjungramses]

I think, in the stimulus, it says, "the idea...is so fundamental to A properly functioning society..."

And answer choice (C) says All society recognize the possibility of clashes.

That is why I eliminate (C). I know it says All societies recognize certain rules as duties but i think only a properly functioning society, there would be clash.

Any idea to help me get through?

[daniel]

I think, in the stimulus, it says, "the idea...is so fundamental to A properly functioning society..."

And answer choice (C) says All society recognize the possibility of clashes.

That is why I eliminate (C). I know it says All societies recognize certain rules as duties but i think only a properly functioning society, there would be clash.

Any idea to help me get through?

If you focus on the structure of the argument, I think your concern will be alleviated. So, we have:

1. All societies define crucial rules as duties.
2. Encapsulated in the idea of a duty is that it is fundamental to a properly functioning society.

So, what you have here is a statement about the relationship between all societies and duties (#1). This is followed by an elaboration about what a duty entails (#2). This does NOT create any gap where you would be able to claim "Not all societies are properly functioning, so there are some societies where (C) would not apply."

[ohthatpatrick]

Great response.

Said in slightly different words ...
"All societies define some rules as duties" is a statement about what all societies actually do.

"The notion of a duty is that it's so fundamental to a properly functioning society that ..." is not claiming that all societies ARE properly functioning, just that all societies have the notion that 'fulfilling duties' is an important part of the ideal (a properly functioning society) they're shooting for.

[PaulRabb]

what "type" of question is this one?

[ohthatpatrick]

We call these Fill in the Blank questions
LOGICAL COMPLETION

but .... they really fit into two different categories depending on what comes before the _____.

If we see
thus, _____
hence, _____
so, ______
This shows that ____

then we know the answer choice will be a Conclusion, so they're asking us to draw a Logical Conclusion, making the question feel like Inference.

If we see
because _____
since ______
after all, ______

then we know that the answer choice will be a Premise, a supporting idea, so they're asking us to provide a Logical Supporting Idea, making the question feel more like Strengthen.

[BensonC202]

After deciding to pick C, I feel so depressed that beside eliminating D on the only ground that I can't find the idea of comparing different duties from the argument, I can not find any other reason to cross it out with all my guts, and I arrived at C not because I am certain its the conclusion author intended to have, but its the only answer left.

So... I actually look up the definitions of certain words to ensure the argument could be making more sense to me.

1. Notion: It does not simply mean idea or concept. It actually contains the meaning of " some big concept/ Ideas known/ Understood "
2. Recognize: It does not simply mean to know sb/sth. It actually means to acknowledge or take notice in some definite ways/ to acknowledge formally

All societies recognize " some specified rules " to be so crucial that they define those rules as duties. such as rules restricting violence and those requiring the keeping agreements as the first premise could be reworded as -

All societies acknowledge formally as to admit " some specified rules, restricting violence and requiring the keeping agreement, as duties.

Contained in the overall known ideas as the group, notion, of a duty is that there is one idea that because fulfilling duty by persons would be harmful to persons' self interests, persons, obligated to fulfill those duties in a proper functioning society, can't not be free from fulfilling the duty, thus, the fulfillment of the duties is fundamental to proper functioning society.

As far as my thought train goes, I reworded into a simplified form -

There is one idea known about those duties that a phenomenon of whomever obligate to fulfill the duty would hurt those self-interest, should not be free of fulfilling the duty, and fulfillment of the duties is fundamental to a properly functioning society, which " always " represent that phenomenon.

So, logically speaking, It shows that author assume if all societies recognize some specified rules to be duties, and if fulfilling the duties is the basis of proper functioning society, representing the phenomenon, then all societies recognize that phenomenon.

I assume that If the correct answer words ' possibility ", then author also assumes that at least one duty can't be fulfilled, since No phenomenon -> No fulfill the duties or that there are other kinds of duties, if to be fulfilled at properly functioning society, would only likely but not necessary to have the phenomenon,

and.. This is the only reason why I was not confident enough to select answer C, since I also did not notices if there are any other duties existed and if we can be certain that at least one duty can't be fulfilled.

[JeremyK460]

all societies believe in duties
all duties must be performed even if the result doesn't benefit the actor
this shows that...all societies believe that some duties might go against what benefits the actor

that's basically answer (c)

whether you interpret 'self interest' as a duty or not, 'prioritizing duties' is not as sufficiently supported by the information provided in the stimulus as 'being butthurt over self-interest'

answer (d): it's possible all, some, or no societies prioritize some duties over others; this idea of duty prioritization plays no part in the context of the stimulus, which is about duty essentialness