PrepTest 143, Section 2, Question 18
Passage A Saint Augustine wrote that to proceed(489 more words not shown)
Passage A(250 more words not shown)
Passage B(247 more words not shown)
The author of passage A(13 more words not shown)
- AMaintaining a policy(14 more words not shown)
- BPeople have a(17 more words not shown)
- CIt can be(24 more words not shown)
- DThere is no(18 more words not shown)
- ETo restore moral(19 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
A's central distinction gives us the prediction. Someone may lose the right to complain about a kind of treatment without giving us sufficient reason to treat him that way. The harmless liar illustrates why: our response can still harm us, other people and trust. His forfeiture isn't the whole justification.
Working the answers
- A
This is framed in terms of rational beings and the respect owed to them, which are B's concerns. A's objection concerns standards and consequences; it does not say a policy of retaliation fails to respect rational beings.
- B
A does not impose a duty to copy morally neutral actions. B mentions that sweeping duty as an excessive consequence to reject, not a position we should transfer to A.
- CCorrect
This states the distinction directly. The liar may forfeit a claim to honesty and have no cause to complain, yet his stories still provide insufficient reason to lie back. The possible harms of our response can leave it unjustified.
- D
This turns a qualified argument into an absolute ban. A says that the liar's conduct alone is insufficient and that other effects must be considered. It does not rule out sufficient justification in every circumstance.
- E
No innocent person's forfeiture is required. A's discussion concerns a liar's own conduct and the reasons for responding to it, not sacrificing an innocent person's rights to restore fairness.
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