PrepTest 147, Section 4, Question 17
It is pointless to debate the truth of(75 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AIt is pointless(9 more words not shown)
- BStatements that contradict(6 more words not shown)
- CThe participants in(12 more words not shown)
- DThe law of(15 more words not shown)
- EAny principles that(15 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why debate a rule using principles you're less sure about than the rule itself? That's the author's objection. The passage says a productive debate needs shared starting points, but the shared principles available here would be less certain than the law being debated. Defending the law with those weaker starting points wouldn't accomplish much.
What we’re looking for
The law itself says contradictory claims cannot both be true: for example, a door cannot be both open and not open at the same moment in the same sense. We don't need to settle whether that law can be defended. This is a main-conclusion question, so our job is to identify what the author wants us to believe about debating it. The rest of the passage gives reasons for the opening claim that the debate is pointless.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This is the point the author supports: debating the truth of this law is pointless. Why? A debate requires shared principles, and in this case those principles would be less certain than the law itself. Those reasons explain the opening claim rather than the opening claim being offered to establish them.
- B
This states the content of the law being discussed. The author defines it so we know what the proposed debate is about. The argument's main point is about the value of having that debate, not simply the truth of the law's definition.
- C
This is a reason used in the argument. Once the author says productive debates require shared principles, the author can ask whether the available shared principles provide a useful basis for debating this particular law. C helps lead to the conclusion that this debate is pointless.
- D
The passage doesn't specifically say that participants must share the law of noncontradiction to have any productive debate. It says they must share some basic principles, and it considers a debate about this law in which those shared principles are less certain. D substitutes a requirement about one particular law for the general requirement the passage gives.
- E
This resembles the supporting claim about the relative certainty of the available principles. Even putting aside its broader wording about any principles, it answers why the debate would be pointless. That makes it part of the reasoning for A, rather than the main conclusion itself.
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