Logical reasoning PrepTest 137 · Section 3 · Question 14

Incorrect. The stimulus never connects economic needs to happiness, so this answer isn't supported and thus doesn't complete the argument.

Incorrect. There's no indication that a society can't create an economic system based primarily on the family.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Argument Completion

Stimulus Summary:
Human happy → Society with love/friendship as primary motives
Economic needs can be met without love/friendship as primary motives
Therefore __________.

Answer Anticipation:
Note that our summary cut out the example—it assists in understanding, but it's not core to the logic. It's also only one example, so it doesn't necessarily determine the traits of all examples of economic need being satisfied.

With that said, we can dive into the logic. And that first sentence is a conditional rule, with the statement after the pivot making a direct callback to it ("in the absence of this condition"). That condition was necessary for humans to be happy, so based on the contrapositive, economic needs that can be met in the absence of this condition therefore can be met without happiness. Since we were able to combine two premises to form an inference, that's almost certainly going to be the correct answer, so let's look for something saying economic needs can be met without happiness.

Answer Explanation:
This answer matches our anticipation. If a society with love/friendship as primary motives is necessary for human happiness, and yet humans can meet their economic needs in a society where that isn't present, then they can meet their economic needs without being happy, as this answer states.

Key Takeaway:
Examples help us to understand arguments, but they are generally just one of many possible examples. As such, the features of that example shouldn't be viewed as being shared by all valid examples. Here, the merchant society, while one example of a society that meets economic needs without allowing for happiness, isn't the only one, and so the fact that only economic utility motivates action there doesn't mean the same is true of every society that meets economic needs without happiness.

Incorrect. In knowing that merchant societies—where love/friendship aren't primary motives—allow economic needs to be satisfied, the stimulus establishes an example where economic needs are met and people can't be happy, so this answer is contradicted.