Self-study
One should not play a practical joke on someone if it shows contempt for that person or if one believes it might bring significant harm to that person.
Summary
If a practical joke shows contempt for a person OR if one believes that it might bring that person significant harm → should NOT play the practical joke on that person
Find or Complete the Application
The conclusion will assert that a practical joke should not be played or should not have been played. The evidence will establish that the practical joke shows contempt on the person on whom the joke would be played, or that one believes that the joke might bring that person significant harm.
20.
The principle stated above, if ██████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ █████████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ ██████████
a
I should not ████ ██████ ████ █████████ ████ ██ ███ ██████████ ████ ██ ██ ███ ███ █████████████ █ ██████ ████ ████████ ████ ██ █████ █████ ███████████ ████ ██ ████████
Wrong evidence. The evidence indicates the joke was not contemptuous. And, although it indicates that the joke would bring significant harm to “someone” — we don’t know that the “someone” is the person on whom the joke was played. In addition, (A) acknowledges that the author “should have realized” that the joke would harm someone, but that doesn’t establish the author actually believed that it might harm someone before the joke was played.
b
I have no ██████ ██ █████ ████ ███ █████████ ████ █ ████ ██ ████ █████ ████ ███████ ███ █████ ███ ████ █████ ████ ██ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ ███ ████ ██ ██████ ███ ██ █████ ███ ██ █████ ███ ██ ██ ████ ███
Unreachable conclusion. (B) concludes that playing a practical joke was “not wrong” (or in other words, that it was OK to play the joke). But the principle allows us to conclude when one should NOT play a practical joke. It doesn’t allow us to conclude when it’s acceptable to play a practical joke. (If you think it does, you’re confusing sufficient and necessary conditions).
c
Because of the ██████████████ ██ █████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ██ ████ ███ █████████ ████ █ ███ ████████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ████ ██████ ██ █████ ███ ████ ████████ ███ ███████ ██ █████ ██████ █████ ███ ███████████ █████
Correct, because it validly uses the principle. The evidence in (C) establish that the author knows the joke “could easily bring you significant harm.” Using the principle, we can then conclude that the author should not play the joke on you.
d
It would have ████ █████ ███ ██ ██ ████ ███ █████████ ████ ████ █ ███ ████████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ████ ██████ █ ███ ███ ████ ██████ ██ █████ ████ ██ █████ █████████████ ████ ███████ █ ███ █████ ████ ██ █████ ████ ████████ ███ ████████
Wrong evidence. The premises do not establish that the joke showed contempt for the person who was the victim of the joke. It establishes only that the joke would show contempt for “someone”; we don’t know whether that person was the victim of the joke. Also, the evidence does not establish that the author believed the joke might harm the victim of the joke.
e
Someone was harmed ██ █ ██████ ██ ██ █████████ █████ █████ ████ ██████ ██ ███ ███ ████ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ █ ██████ ███ ████ ███ █ ██████ ███ ████ ██████ ███
Wrong evidence. The evidence does not establish that the joke showed contempt for the victim of the joke, or that the author believed that the victim of the joke might be harmed.