PrepTest 104, Section 1, Question 17
The stable functioning of a society depends upon(70 more words not shown)
The claim that a society(24 more words not shown)
- AIt is the(4 more words not shown)
- BIt helps to(6 more words not shown)
- CIt is a(12 more words not shown)
- DIt is a(4 more words not shown)
- EIt is used(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What if people's goals keep changing? Laws meant to satisfy them would be aimed at a moving target. That is the connection the author wants us to accept—not that the citizens have no goals at all.
The opening says a stable society requires relatively stable goals. At first that could look like a starting rule. But “This is clear from” introduces reasons for believing it, so the later sentences reveal that the opening is actually the conclusion.
Follow the two links. A stable society requires laws that tend to make its citizens happier. And making those laws requires a majority with predictable, enduring aspirations. If stability requires the helpful laws, and the helpful laws require stable goals, stability requires stable goals too.
What we’re looking for
The question points to the claim that a society is stable only if its laws tend to increase its citizens' happiness. That is the first link in the chain we just followed. It helps establish the opening conclusion; it isn't the conclusion itself.
Working the answers
- A
The conclusion is the opening claim about society depending on relatively stable goals. The statement about happiness-producing laws helps connect a stable society to those goals. Its appearing near the end doesn't make it the main point.
- BCorrect
This claim supplies part of the support. It tells us stable society requires laws that tend to increase happiness. The other premise connects the ability to make such laws with predictable, enduring goals. Together, those claims support the conclusion that society's stability depends on relatively stable goals.
- C
The author accepts this claim and uses it. Refuting it would remove one of the links supporting the conclusion, not clear an obstacle the author needs to defeat. It is on the supporting side of the argument.
- D
A consequence would be something established by the argument. The author instead presents this claim as a reason to accept the opening statement. The direction of support runs from the claim about laws toward the conclusion about stable goals, not the other way around.
- E
An illustration would give a particular case of a broader rule—for example, a named society whose experience shows how that rule works. This statement is itself a general requirement about stable societies. It is used as a premise, not as a concrete example of another principle.
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