PrepTest 128, Section 3, Question 25
Although withholding information from someone who would find(67 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AIf Jane does(16 more words not shown)
- BIf Jane does(16 more words not shown)
- CIf Jane tells(27 more words not shown)
- DJason might eventually(20 more words not shown)
- EJason would benefit(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
I can imagine a reason to choose the timing of painful news carefully. If someone has just awakened after a serious accident, perhaps devastating news about a loved one shouldn't be the first thing said. That illustrates why withholding painful information might sometimes be justified; it doesn't establish a rule that all unpleasant information should be concealed.
The argument gives an exception to the pain-based justification: if the information would benefit the person, its painfulness doesn't justify withholding it. Now apply that to Jason. Learning that his supervisor is displeased would hurt, but it would also enable him to improve the supervisor's opinion of his work.
Would that improvement benefit Jason? It sounds plausible. A better opinion might help his prospects at work. But that connection is something we're supplying, not something the argument states.
What we’re looking for
The required assumption should connect the offered opportunity—improving the supervisor's opinion—to the benefit that makes the rule apply. Without that connection, the argument hasn't established why painfulness fails to justify withholding this particular information.
Working the answers
- A
Jason's situation doesn't have to worsen without the information for receiving it to benefit him. Suppose things would remain unchanged if Jane stayed silent, but telling him would let him make a useful improvement. The argument could still work. A describes a possible reason disclosure would help, but it isn't required.
- B
Jane doesn't have to be Jason's only possible source. Someone else might eventually tell him, and Jane's telling him now could still give him a beneficial opportunity to improve. The argument doesn't depend on his remaining permanently unaware if she stays silent.
- C
Gratitude is a reaction to the information, not the benefit the argument needs. Jason could resent hearing the criticism yet use it to make an improvement that helps him. He doesn't have to be grateful for the reasoning to work.
- D
Jason might make an improvement on his own, but the argument doesn't require that possibility. It relies on the opportunity the information would provide. An alternative way to reach the same result doesn't establish the needed benefit or show that the argument depends on that alternative being available.
- ECorrect
This states the missing connection: being able to improve the supervisor's opinion would benefit Jason. The information enables that improvement; the improvement benefits him; therefore, the rule against using painfulness to justify withholding beneficial information applies. E makes explicit the connection that initially sounded natural enough to overlook.
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