Philosophy, Revisited

One of my friends is studying for the LSAT. After I botched a sample logic question he shared with me (though at least we both screwed up), I went on a hunt for more sample LSAT logic questions and thus wasted the rest of my night. Below are some of my favorite/most fiendish of questions. So why is philosophy important, again? Because it helps you solve these!

Testifying before the Senate committee investigating charges that cigarette manufacturers had manipulated nicotine levels in cigarettes in order to addict consumers to their products, tobacco executives argued that cigarette smoking is not addictive. The primary reason they gave in support of this claim was that cigarette smoking was not regulated by the Federal Drug Administration. 

For the tobacco executives' argument to be logically correct, which of the following must be assumed? 

A.) Substances that are not addictive are not regulated by ...........the Federal Drug Administration.

B.) The tobacco executives lied when they claimed that ...........cigarette smoking was not addictive.

C.) Some addictive substances are not regulated by the ...........Federal Drug Administration. 

D.) There is no scientific proof that cigarette smoking is ...........addictive. 

E.) Substances that are not regulated by the Federal Drug ...........Administration are not addictive.

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 People should be held accountable for their own behavior, and if holding people accountable for their own behavior entails capital punishment, then so be it. However, no person should be held accountable for behavior over which he or she had no control. 

Which of the following is the most logical conclusion of the argument above? 

A.) People should not be held accountable for the ...........behavior of other people. 

B.) People have control over their own behavior. 

C.) People cannot control the behavior of other people. 

D.) Behavior that cannot be controlled should not be ...........punished. 

E.) People have control over behavior that is subject ...........to capital punishment.

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Beautiful beaches attract people, no doubt about it. Just look at this city's beautiful beaches, which are among the most overcrowded beaches in the state.

Which of the following exhibits a pattern of reasoning most similar to the one exhibited in the argument above? 

A.) Moose and bear usually appear at the same drinking ...........hole at the same time of day. Therefore, moose and ...........bear must grow thirsty at about the same time. 

B.) Children who are scolded severely tend to misbehave ...........more often than other children. Hence if a child is ...........not scolded severely that child is less likely to ...........misbehave. 

C.) This software program helps increase the work ...........efficiency of its users. As a result, these users ...........have more free time for other activities. 

D.) During warm weather my dog suffers from fleas ...........more so than during cooler weather. Therefore, ...........fleas must thrive in a warm environment. 

E.) Pesticides are known to cause anemia in some people. ...........However, most anemic people live in regions where ...........pesticides are not commonly used.

If you want to know the answers, you can find them on the LSAT sample questions homepage.