LSAT PT 78 Section #3 Question #2 - An unstable climate was probably a major cause of the

Answer 1

You can set up any "Strengthen the Argument" question with a framework like this:

BECAUSE

evidence

THEREFORE

conclusion

ESPECIALLY IF

answer

In this case, that would be:

BECAUSE

climate was highly variable

variable climate hurt food production

THEREFORE

variable climate was a major cause of fall of Rome

ESPECIALLY IF

(D) Rome thrived when weather was favorable for agriculture

One way to check a "strengthen the argument" answer is to ask what would happen if it were the opposite. What if good weather made no difference to Rome? Would that WEAKEN the claim that it was the varying climate that brought down the Empire? It sort of weakens it--if good weather makes no difference, why should bad weather be a problem? And then why should changes in the weather matter?

Checking what happens if the answer was the opposite may also help you avoid the trick answers here that are highly relevant -- except they WEAKEN the argument instead of strengthen it.

Answer 2

This argument relies on faulty causal reasoning based on the idea that because climate fluctuation occurred at the same time as the fall of the Roman Empire that means it was probably a major cause of the fall of the Roman Empire. The author provides additional support by stating that this could be true because fluctuating weather leads to an unstable food supply and thus an unstable empire.

To strengthen this causal argument we have several options:

1) show without cause then no effect, show additional instances of the cause creating the same effect, give evidence that the relationship is not reversed, provide additional statistical support, and rule out an outside alternative cause.

A) is incorrect because it weakens the connection between climate -> food shortage -> collapse by showing political failures could be an alternative explanaton.

B) is incorrect because it weakens the argument by stating even with the cause there is no effect.

C) is incorrect because it weakens the argument by providing an alternative cause of food shortages.

D) is correct because it shows an additional instance where there is both the cause and the effect.

E) is incorrect because it is out of scope by talking about Europe instead of the Roman Empire alone.

Answer 3