Whoever is kind is loved by somebody or other, and whoever loves anyon

Question

Whoever is kind is loved by somebody or other, and whoever loves anyone is happy. It follows that whoever is kind is happy.

The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

(A) Whoever loves someone loves everyone.

(B) Whoever loves everyone loves someone.

(C) Whoever is happy loves everyone.

(D) Whoever loves no one is loved by no one.

(E) Whoever loves everyone is kind.

PyjamaScientist · Answer

So the assumption is:

Whoever is loved by someone loves anyone. Best expressed in answer choice  (D) , but hidden in the form of the contrapositive!

(A) doesn't relate to the first premise.
(B) doesn't relate to the first premise.
(C) attempts to skip the first premise, but then has the relationship reversed.
(E) doesn't relate to the first premise.

Bunuel · Answer

EXPLANATION FROM Fox LSAT

This is one that I would diagram. Sentence one has two premises. Kind —> Loved, and Loves —> Happy. The conclusion is Kind —> Happy.

We are asked to supply an additional premise that, if true, would make the conclusion of the argument “follow logically.” What this means is “prove the conclusion.”

The answer could be EITHER Loved —> Loves or the contrapositive of that statement, Loves —> Loved. (Those are equivalent statements.) If either one of those is true, then you can get to Kind —> Loved —> Loves —> Happy, which would prove that Kind —> Happy.

This question is hard until you 1) master conditional reasoning and 2) understand what it means to “prove” a conclusion. Once you get those two things, this question is actually super-easy. Keep working at it!

A) Not what we’re looking for.
B) Not what we’re looking for.
C) Not what we’re looking for.
D) This is exactly what we predicted, and it would prove the conclusion of the argument, therefore it is our answer.
E) Not what we’re looking for.

D is the answer.

There’s no point in analyzing the incorrect answer choices here, sorry. To understand this question, you need to be able to see how Answer D bridges the gap between the premises and the conclusion. Once you see that, then D is the only conceivable answer and everything else is just irrelevant.

unraveled · Answer

The quote 'Don't judge a book by its cover' aptly fits for this one.
This one blew me for its abstractness. It has got straightforward path which must be followed to correctly answer it. Highlighted text is conclusion.

Kind ---> Loved(by somebody) 
Loves(anyone) ---> happy

So, how can 
kind ---> happy

Hence some relationship must be established between loved and loves. By that logic only D makes sense. But this is not an easy one as I picked E which is wrong again because it may be true in real world, not here. Most absurd is B. C is kind of a trap. A is an extreme because it goes way beyond what may be required, but even if it hits right notes, they are not the ones we are looking for.

Answer D.

Bunuel · Answer

EXPLANATION FROM POWER PREP

To solve this question quickly and efficiently, you need to diagram the conditional reasoning that underlies the argument:

Premise: Kind → Loved by others

Premise: Love anyone → Happy

Conclusion: Kind → Happy

Clearly, this chain of reasoning is missing a link between "loved by others" and "loving anyone." Since the question stem is asking us to identify an assumption that will be sufficient to prove the conclusion, we need to look for an answer that establishes the following:

Loved by others → Love anyone

That is, whoever is loved by somebody or other loves anyone. This would lead to the correct conclusion by additive inference with the existing premises. Alternatively, you can look for the logical equivalent of this idea, which is expressed by the contrapositive:

Love others  →  Loved by others

That is, whoever loves nobody is loved by nobody. Answer choice (D) is therefore correct.

Answer choice (A): Love someone → Love anyone

This answer choice fails to link the first premise to the rest of the argument, and instead introduces another conditional element (loving someone). If whoever loves someone loves everyone, and premise #2 requires that whoever loves anyone is happy, we can only conclude that whoever loves someone is happy. Since this is not the conclusion we are asked to justify, this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): Love anyone → Love someone

This answer choice has the same implications as answer choice (A); in fact, it is the Mistaken Reversal of that answer. Both answer choices fail to link the element of kindness to the conclusion and are therefore incorrect.

Answer choice (C): Happy → Love anyone

This answer choice is the Mistaken Reversal of the second premise of the argument. This creates a circular chain of reasoning, wherein each statement both implies and is implied by the other.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. See discussion above. Even if you failed to diagram the conditional reasoning relationships in this argument, you should notice that this answer choice is the only one that mentions the element of "loved by," and one of only two answer choices that refers to being "kind." Both of these elements are constitutive of the first premise of the argument and must be linked to the conclusion.

Answer choice (E): Love anyone → Kind

When added to the premises, this statement only proves that whoever loves anyone is both kind and happy. But this does not lead to the conclusion that whoever is kind is happy, since some people who are kind may not love anyone. Two necessary conditions (kindness and happiness) which are both inferred by the same sufficient condition (loving anyone) do not infer each other.

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.

Whoever is kind is loved by somebody or other, and whoever loves anyon

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Whoever is kind is loved by somebody or other, and whoever loves anyon

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards