Phenomenon / Explanation

[DavidH327]

What is a phenomenon in LSAT?

And what constitutes an explanation?? (is it anything that contains reasoning?)

What is a difference between claim and a statement??

I've seen these terms occur mostly in answer choices but do not have a firm grasp.

Thank you.

[ohthatpatrick]

A phenomenon is basically any thing that's ever occurred or is occurring.

Here are some phenomena:
World War II
people switching from answering calls to only answering texts
Grandma's current outburst of sneezing

It's such a broad term that it would be very rare for 'phenomenon' to be the un-matchable part of an answer choice.

Explanations (aka 'hypothesis') are attempts to describe the causal reason for a phenomenon.

They answer the question "why".
Why did WWII occur?
Why did people get so into texting that they stopped taking phone calls?
Why is Grandma sneezing?

PHENOMENON: something that occurred or is occurring.
EXPLANATION: why it occurred or is occurring (i.e. what is causing it to occur)

Causal arguments (argument = reasoning) usually consist of a Phenomenon for a premise and a Causal Explanation for a conclusion.

We're supposed to ask ourselves:
1. Could there be some OTHER EXPLANATION for the phenomenon?
2. How plausible is the AUTHOR'S EXPLANATION for the phenomenon?


"claim" and "statement" mean the same thing to me: a series of words that could stand alone as a sentence.

That sentence could be factual or opinionated, doesn't matter.

Hope this helps.