Self-study
Essayist: Support Practical intelligence is the ability to discover means to ends. ████ ███████ ██ █ █████████████████ ████ ████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ████ █████ ██ █████ ████ █ █████ ████ ███ █████ ████████ ██ ████████ ███ ███ ██████ ███ ███████████ █████ ████ ██ ██████ ████ █████ █████ █████ ██████ ███████████ ██ ███ █████████ ██████
Summary
The author concludes that if there was a being that was always and immediately given anything it wants, that being could never obtain practical intelligence. Why? Because practical intelligence, which is the ability to discover means to ends, never develops on its own.
Missing Connection
We know that the ability to discover means to ends (practical intelligence) never develops on its own. Does that prove that someone who’s immediately given anything they ever want can’t develop the ability to discover means to ends? No. Why couldn’t someone else teach them this skill? Or why couldn’t the person decide to train and develop the skill? To make the argument valid, want to establish that someone who’s given anything they want immediately will never develop the skill of discovering the means to ends (practical intelligence).
9.
The conclusion of the essayist's ████████ ███ ██ ████████ █████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ █████████ ██ ████████
a
A being cannot ███████ █ █████ ███████ ███ ████ ██ ███████
(A) leaves open the possibility that someone who’s given anything they want immediately could acquire practical intelligence through the help of others.
b
Skills are acquired ████ ██ ████ ███ ███████
Someone who is always and immediately given anything they want is someone who doesn’t need to develop the skill of discovering means to ends. After all, whatever end they have in mind will always and immediately be satisfied. (B) establishes, then, that this kind of person will not acquire the skill of practice intelligence, because they do not need the skill.
c
The best way ██ █████ ███ ██ ███████ █████████ ██ ██ ██ ████████ ██ ███
(C) leaves open the possibility that someone who’s always and immediately given anything they want can still develop practical intelligence. The best way to learn how to acquire something doesn’t preclude the possibility of many other ways to learn how to acquire something.
d
A being with █████████ ████████████ █████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████████ ███████ ███ ███ ██ ███ █████████ █████████████
(D) tells us something about someone who already has practical intelligence. This is irrelevant, because we’re trying to prove that someone will never develop practical intelligence.
e
If a being ████ ██████ ████████ ██ ████ ██ ███████ ██ █████ ███ ███████ █████████ █████████████
The argument concerns a being who is “never deprived of anything.” So (E)’s statement about a being who’s always deprived of what it wants doesn’t affect the argument.