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LSAT Preptest 152, Section 2, Question 18

"Doctor: Angiotensinogen is a protein in…"

Explanation

The doctor's argument appears to infer a direct causal relationship between Disease X and high blood pressure based on the correlation between angiotensinogen levels and blood pressure, alongside the observation that Disease X causes an increase in angiotensinogen levels.

A. While this is an error in causation, the answer does not trade on a sufficient/necessary condition. Instead the answer states that disease X must be a cause because of an association with the factors in the stimulus. 


B. There is no information in the stimulus that suggests other factors are counteracting any effects. Moreover, the response overstates and suggests that a causal connection already exists, committing the same flaw as the initial argument. 


C. (Correct Response) The argument is making a causal inference based on correlation alone. Just because Disease X increases angiotensinogen levels, and higher angiotensinogen levels correlate with high blood pressure, it does not necessarily follow that Disease X causes high blood pressure. There could be other factors at play, or it could be that while Disease X influences angiotensinogen levels, it does not have a significant impact on blood pressure. This critique correctly identifies the flaw of assuming causation solely from correlation. 


D. This describes a different type of error in causation. This would describe a scenario where the order of cause and effect is confused, such as in the case where one phenomenon occurs before the second in time, or where the arguer confuses cause and effect more generally. E.g. This area is so safe we never lock our doors, therefore, unlocked doors reduce crime. 


E. This describes a syllogism A-->B-->C= A-->C. It then suggests that the argument assumes that A can never be a direct cause of C. This is not correct, in fact the argument erroneously assumes that Disease X (A) causes high blood pressure (C).

The correct critique is that the argument illicitly infers causation from correlation without additional evidence to support the causal link, which is option C.

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