LNAT Addressing Counterarguments 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage argues that anonymous online speech should be banned. A counterargument states: 'Anonymity protects whistleblowers and political dissidents.' The author responds: 'A verified identity system with court-ordered disclosure for abuse cases would protect genuine whistleblowers.' This response is best described as:
- A red herring that avoids the counterargument
- A constructive rebuttal that proposes a mechanism to accommodate the counterargument's core concern (Correct answer)
- A full concession that abandons the original proposal
- An ad hominem attack on whistleblowers
Correct answer: A constructive rebuttal that proposes a mechanism to accommodate the counterargument's core concern
By proposing a safeguard that addresses the legitimate concern raised, the author shows the counterargument's objection can be mitigated without abandoning the main proposal.
Question 2: Which of the following counterarguments is an example of 'argument from consequences' used to challenge a policy proposal?
- The person proposing this policy has a financial conflict of interest
- Historical precedent shows this policy has always failed
- If we adopt this policy, it will inevitably lead to government overreach and authoritarianism (Correct answer)
- The statistics cited in favor of this policy are from a biased source
Correct answer: If we adopt this policy, it will inevitably lead to government overreach and authoritarianism
Argument from consequences claims a proposal is wrong because of its predicted outcomes, here invoking a slippery slope to authoritarianism.
Question 3: An LNAT passage argues that international aid perpetuates dependency. A counterargument claims: 'Emergency humanitarian aid saves lives and cannot be withheld.' The strongest rebuttal acknowledges this by:
- Denying that aid ever saves lives
- Distinguishing between emergency humanitarian aid (which the author accepts) and long-term development aid (which the argument targets) (Correct answer)
- Arguing that all aid categories should be evaluated identically
- Conceding the entire dependency argument is wrong
Correct answer: Distinguishing between emergency humanitarian aid (which the author accepts) and long-term development aid (which the argument targets)
Clarifying that the argument applies to long-term structural aid — not emergency relief — removes the counterargument's force while preserving the original claim's scope.
Question 4: A debater argues: 'Capital punishment should be abolished because innocent people may be executed.' An opponent responds: 'No justice system is perfect; wrongful convictions also occur in non-capital cases.' What does this response attempt to do?
- Prove that capital punishment never leads to wrongful executions
- Reduce the special moral significance of the irreversibility of execution by normalizing imperfection across all sentencing (Correct answer)
- Concede that capital punishment is fundamentally unjust
- Introduce new empirical evidence about wrongful conviction rates
Correct answer: Reduce the special moral significance of the irreversibility of execution by normalizing imperfection across all sentencing
By generalizing imperfection to all sentences, the opponent attempts to dilute what makes wrongful execution uniquely irreversible and morally serious.
Question 5: In analytical writing, why is it important to address the strongest counterargument rather than the easiest one?
- Easy counterarguments are factually incorrect and should be ignored
- Addressing only weak objections leaves the argument vulnerable to more serious challenges and reduces credibility (Correct answer)
- Strong counterarguments are always easier to rebut than weak ones
- Readers only care about the weakest objection to an argument
Correct answer: Addressing only weak objections leaves the argument vulnerable to more serious challenges and reduces credibility
Engaging only weak counterarguments signals intellectual avoidance and fails to persuade readers who are aware of stronger objections.
Question 6: A passage claims that compulsory military service builds national cohesion. A counterargument states: 'Countries with professional volunteer armies perform better militarily.' The author should ideally respond by:
- Conceding military effectiveness is the only purpose of military service
- Arguing that national cohesion is a distinct social goal separate from military effectiveness, so the comparison does not defeat the claim (Correct answer)
- Denying that volunteer armies have ever outperformed conscript armies
- Agreeing the military effectiveness point is correct and abandoning the cohesion argument
Correct answer: Arguing that national cohesion is a distinct social goal separate from military effectiveness, so the comparison does not defeat the claim
The counterargument conflates military effectiveness with national cohesion — clarifying these are separate goals allows the author to defend the cohesion claim on its own terms.
Question 7: When an author writes 'admittedly, this policy has drawbacks, but on balance the benefits outweigh them,' which argumentative move is being made?
- The author is retreating from their original position
- The author is making a proportionality argument after honestly acknowledging the policy's costs (Correct answer)
- The author is using an ad hominem to deflect criticism
- The author is introducing a new claim unrelated to the original argument
Correct answer: The author is making a proportionality argument after honestly acknowledging the policy's costs
This construction honestly acknowledges downsides before asserting that the overall cost-benefit analysis still favors the proposal — a credible and balanced argumentative move.
LNAT Addressing Counterarguments 5
A passage argues that anonymous online speech should be banned.
A counterargument states: 'Anonymity protects whistleblowers and political dissidents.' The author responds: 'A verified identity system with court-ordered disclosure for abuse cases would protect genuine whistleblowers.' This response is best described as: