Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that…
2023
Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be. We weep at what exceeds our expectations in serious matters; we laugh at what disappoints our expectations in trifles. We shed tears from sympathy with real and necessary distress; as we burst into laughter from want of sympathy with that which is unreasonable and unnecessary. Tears are the natural and involuntary response of the mind overcome by some sudden and violent emotions. Laughter is the same sort of convulsive and involuntary movement, occasioned by mere surprise or contrast.
The serious is the stress which the mind lays upon the expectations of a given order of events and the weight attached to them. When this stress is increased beyond its usual intensity and strains the feelings by the violent opposition of good and bad, it becomes the tragic. The ludicrous is the unexpected relaxing of this stress below its usual intensity, by an abrupt transposition of ideas that takes the mind by surprise and startles it into lively sense of pleasure.
The author develops the passage primarily by
Answer: D. Defining terms — ConceptA passage's method of development is the organizing move used to build its ideas. Definition develops an idea by explaining what a term or category…
- A.
Disproving a theory
- B.
Citing authorities
- C.
Presenting counter example
- D.
Defining terms
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Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
A passage's method of development is the organizing move used to build its ideas. Definition develops an idea by explaining what a term or category means and by identifying its essential features or relationships.
To identify the method, examine the function of the sentences: a definition explains meaning, a refutation overturns a stated theory, an authority supplies attributed support, and a counterexample contradicts a general claim with a specific case.
Application
The passage repeatedly uses explanatory frames: “Tears are …”, “Laughter is …”, “The serious is …”, and “The ludicrous is …”.
Each frame gives the meaning or characteristic operation of its term. Tears and laughter are explained through emotional responses; the serious, tragic, and ludicrous are explained through changes in mental stress and expectation.
This repeated movement from a term to its meaning supplies the organizing structure of the passage.
Contrast
Disproving a theory would require a stated theory followed by evidence or reasoning that overturns it; the passage introduces no theory for refutation.
Citing authorities would require named experts, texts, or attributed quotations; the passage develops its claims in the author’s own explanatory voice.
Presenting a counterexample would require a specific case that contradicts a general claim; the paired examples of weeping and laughter illustrate the discussion rather than overturning a claim.
Result
Therefore, the passage is developed primarily by defining terms.