PrepTest 152, Section 1, Question 5
Many fictional works have characters who are supposedly(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AA character is(14 more words not shown)
- BIt is impossible(10 more words not shown)
- CThe plots of(21 more words not shown)
- DWhen fictional works(19 more words not shown)
- ENo work of(7 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Does seeing the future require getting it right every time?
'Precognitive' means able to perceive future events accurately. If a character foresees a flood and no flood occurs, that particular prediction was wrong. I'll accept that. But the author then treats some failed predictions as showing the character lacks the ability altogether.
Imagine a character correctly predicting 99 out of 100 future weather events and missing one flood. That character isn't perfect. Could the character still possess a fictional ability to see the future? The answer depends on whether the ability allows any mistakes. The argument quietly demands perfection.
What we’re looking for
For the required assumption, that's what I'd look for: a truly precognitive character must never have an inaccurate perception of a future event. Otherwise, showing one failed perception wouldn't settle whether the character has the ability.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This makes accuracy in every perception a requirement for genuine precognition. The plots show that some perceptions fail, so those characters fail the requirement. Without that all-or-nothing standard, the author hasn't explained why an occasional mistake rules the ability out rather than showing that it is imperfect.
- B
The argument doesn't need perfect prediction to be impossible. It could be possible for one fictional character to predict everything accurately while the characters at issue fail to do so. We need a standard for what counts as precognition, not a universal claim that nobody can meet a standard of perfect accuracy. Nor do we need to decide whether seeing the future is possible in real life to assess reasoning about fictional characters.
- C
Some stories leaving the outcome unspecified wouldn't establish that the characters in other stories lack precognition. The evidence here is that certain perceived events do not occur, not that the reader never learns the outcome. Ambiguity and a demonstrated failed prediction are different situations.
- D
A prediction could be central to the plot or appear only briefly. Either way, the issue is whether its failure disqualifies the character as precognitive. The argument doesn't depend on how important these perceptions are to the story as a whole.
- E
This is a much broader claim than the argument needs. The author could allow some works to portray truly precognitive characters while concluding that the failed perceptions in other works expose characters who aren't. We don't have to make a claim about every work of fiction to apply the perfection requirement in A to these cases.
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