PrepTest 143 - Section 2 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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Passage A.

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Augustine's view · Don't lie to liars

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Author's concession · Some truth behind Augustine's view

General opinion · Many think lying to liars feels fair

People think that liars forfeit right to be told the truth.

Two moral questions · (1) Does liar have right to be told truth? (2) Are we more justified in lying to a liar?

Author's view · Liar forfeits right to truth, but we shouldn't automatically lie to him

We need to consider potential harm to ourselves and society when considering whether to lie to him.

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View derived from Kant · Acting toward someone as they have acted toward others treats that person as a rational being

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Potential implication · Some might think we have a duty to act toward someone as they have acted to others

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Author's view · Not a duty; but we're authorized to act toward someone as they have acted toward others

If a rational person does something to another person, he authorizes others to do the same to him.

Passage Style

17.

The passages are alike in ████ ████ █████ ██ ███████ ███ ████ ████████ ██

Question Type

Describe approach

Structure

Split Approach: After passage A, eliminate any answer choice that isn’t descriptively accurate about how author A structures her argument. Then, after passage B, choose the remaining answer choice that’s descriptively accurate about what author B does.

Sequential Approach: Both authors build their arguments by considering and refuting the implications of a certain viewpoint. Author A says that repaying a liar with lies would cause various harms, and so the mere fact that someone’s a liar doesn’t make it okay to lie to him. And author B says that if we had a duty to repay an immoral act with the same act, then we’d have a duty to repay every kind of act with the same act, which would be excessive. The right answer might reflect this, but we should be open to any answer choice that accurately describes an approach both authors take.

anticipating and refuting ███ ████ ████████ ██████████ ██ █ ██████

This says the authors support a theory by identifying objections and refuting those objections. Author A doesn’t do this. Perhaps she takes St. Augustine’s view in P1 and shows that some people object to it in P2. But it’s a stretch to call St. Augustine’s view a “theory,” and author A doesn’t refute the objection so much as clarify certain moral considerations. And author B doesn’t identify and refute any objections. He raises an objection to the idea that repaying immoral acts in kind is a duty, but he doesn’t refute that objection—he supports it.

25%

using an analogy ██ ███████ ███ ███████ █████

Author A draws an analogy between bullies and liars. But author B doesn’t use any analogies. He just asks if we have a duty to repay immoral acts in kind, and then follows through on the implications of that idea.

focusing on a ████████ ████ ██ ██████████ █ ██████████████

Author A does this with the specific case of a liar. But author B doesn’t do this. He discusses immoral acts, and repaying those acts in kind, in very general terms only.

suggesting that a ████ ███ ████ ████████████ ████████████

Author A says the view that we should repay a liar with lies would have the unreasonable consequence of harms to “self, others, and general trust.” And author B says the view that we have a duty to repay immoral acts in kind would have the unreasonable consequence of obligating us to repay every sort of action in kind.

57%

offering and defending █ ███ ██████████ ███ █ ████████ ████ ████

Author A doesn’t offer a new definition for anything, which is enough to eliminate (E). Author B also doesn’t offer a new definition.

PrepTest 143 - Section 2 - Passage 3 - Question 17

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