Ethicist: Studies have documented the

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong22% picked this

   A patient’s psychological satisfaction is not a consideration in administering

   The author is definitely assuming it's not the only consideration, or else she'd probably be okay with administering a placebo in order to appease the patient's psychological satisfaction. But our author doesn't have to assume it's not a consideration at all. If we negate this and say that patient psychological consideration is a consideration, that doesn't do much to say that this is therefore ethically questionable.

   22%
2. B

   Correct65% picked this

   The motivation for administering a placebo can be relevant to the ethical justification

   Why this is right

   This is lovably weak since it's just saying "can be relevant". That means that when we negate it, we'll get a very powerful idea. Does this negation hurt the argument: the motivation for why you administer a placebo can never be relevant to the ethical justification for administering it. Yes! The author is saying, "it's questionable whether administering a placebo would be ethically justifiable if a doctor is prescribing it with the motivation of just trying to give the patient satisfaction that something was being done." If the motivation for administering a placebo has no relevance to whether it's ethically justified, then the author's argument would just fall apart.

   Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   65%
3. C

   Too Strong: indefensible7% picked this

   Medical treatment that relies on the placebo effect alone is

   The author is only saying that the placebo treatment is questionable, not indefensible.

   7%
4. D

   Opposite3% picked this

   The pain relief produced by the placebo effect justifies the deception involved in

   The author is ethically uneasy about giving a placebo in certain circumstances, even if it does provide pain relief. This answer is saying "the deception is justified!" That sounds like someone who is ethically comfortable with placebos, not like our author.

   3%
5. E

   Out of Scope2% picked this

   Administering a placebo is not ethically justified if that treatment is not prescribed

   Out of Scope: not prescribed by a doctor Even though this answer seems pretty plausible, it's not covered by the argument. The author is only talking about doctors prescribing placebos. We don't know what this person would think about someone else administering a placebo.

   2%