PrepTest 134, Section 3, Question 20
One should not play a practical joke on(20 more words not shown)
The principle stated above, if(14 more words not shown)
- AI should not(26 more words not shown)
- BI have no(40 more words not shown)
- CBecause of the(35 more words not shown)
- DIt would have(42 more words not shown)
- ESomeone was harmed(29 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
There are two separate reasons here not to play a joke on someone: it shows contempt for that person, or you believe it might seriously harm that person. Either reason is enough.
The second reason concerns your belief before the joke, not whether harm eventually occurs. And both reasons concern the person the joke targets. Contempt for someone else, or harm to someone else, isn't exactly the condition we're given.
What we’re looking for
Also, these are reasons against playing a joke, not a complete permission slip for every other joke. Maybe some other objection would apply even when neither listed reason does. To find the argument the principle supports, look for a decision not to play the joke based on one of the two stated grounds.
Working the answers
- A
Should have realized isn't the same as actually believed. The principle forbids the joke when the person believes it might cause significant harm, not merely when the person ought to have foreseen harm. A also says harm to someone rather than specifically to the person targeted. It doesn't establish either of the conditions as stated.
- B
Avoiding two reasons for saying no doesn't establish that the joke is permissible. The principle never says these are the only possible objections. B tries to get permission from a rule that only identifies circumstances in which one should not act.
- CCorrect
The speaker hasn't played the joke and recognizes that it could easily cause you significant harm. That expresses a belief in the possibility of significant harm to the intended target. The second condition therefore applies, even though the joke shows no contempt. Saying it would be wrong to play it expresses the decision not to act that the principle supports.
- D
Contempt for someone isn't necessarily contempt for you, the target of the planned joke. Imagine a joke played on you that mocks an unrelated third person. A belief that it insults that third person doesn't establish the principle's contempt condition about you. The answer also denies a reason to expect significant harm, so it doesn't establish the other route either.
- E
Someone actually being harmed doesn't tell us what the speaker believed beforehand. The harm might have been wholly unexpected. We also aren't told that it was significant harm to the target of the joke. Actual harm could raise other concerns, but E doesn't connect its conclusion to either condition this principle supplies.
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