Logical Reasoning

PT118 · S3 · Q10 Every moral theory developed in

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Every moral theory developed in the Western tradition purports to tell us what a good life is.

Statements

conditional (every = suff. indicator, put on LEFT)

Moral theory developed → Purports to tell us in Western tradition what a good life is

pivot (but, yet, however, nevertheless)

Most people would judge someone perfectly embodying what these theories explain to be a good life as not living a good life (not want they would want for themselves or their kids).

Evaluate

This paragraph gives us two claims, joined by a Pivot word, so normally that means the correct answer will Reconcile the Pivot; it will find some safely worded way of combining what came before pivot with what came after.

The overlapping idea in both claims is "good life". Every moral theory from the West tries to tell us what a good life is. But most people would disagree (for themselves / for their kids) that any of these definitions qualify as "good life".

So we could synthesize into something like, Most people do not agree with Western moral theories, when it comes to what makes a good life.

Goal

Let's look for something safely worded, probably that reinforces the disconnect between what Western moral theories consider a good life and what most people consider a good life.

10.

The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

  1. Most people desire a life

    Out of Scope: Better Than Good

    This paragraph is only talking about "good life" in absolute terms. The moral theories are telling us what a good life is / isn't. Most people would react to these definitions like, "Whaaaa? That doesn't sound like what a good life is." There's nothing dealing with comparisons like better than merely good. For all we know, most people simply desire for themselves and their kids "a good life". They just disagree with how Western moral theories understand that concept.

    6% picked this

  2. A person who fits the

    No Support

    No Support: Different Ideals One-Claim Support (Red Flag) This answer is tempting because it's an incredibly weak claim that's bound to be true in the real world. The only way this answer fails to be true is if "every moral theory in the Western tradition has the same ideals", which is incredibly implausible. So, yes, in the real world this answer is almost certainly true. But is there any support provided for that from this paragraph? This paragraph never talks about whether different theories have different ideals. It's possible that all Western moral theories have the same ideals. That wouldn't conflict with anything in the passage. When the text says "someone who perfectly embodied the ideals of any one of these theories", that seems to suggest that different theories have different ideals, but it's not a must be true inference from that language. The correct answer to Inference questions (Must Be True / Most Supported) will 99% of the time involve combining 2 or more claims, so we want to be pretty skeptical when we find ourselves picking an answer based off only one claim or phrase in the paragraph.

    27% picked this

  3. Correct

    Most people have a conception

    Why this is right

    This answer reconciles the pivot. It speaks to the disconnect between what Western moral theories say is a good life and what most people judge to be a good life. Since most people would look at a person who is living the "good life" described by any one of these theories and judge, "wait a sec --- that person is not living a good life!", that basically proves that most people's concept of "good life" does not match the concept of a good life found in any Western moral theory.

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

    63% picked this

  4. A good life as described

    Too Strong: Cannot Be Realized

    Nothin in the paragraph suggests that it's impossible to achieve the ideals described in any of these Western moral theories.

    3% picked this

  5. It is impossible to develop

    Too Strong: Impossible

    Nothing in the paragraph suggests that it's impossible to accurately describe what a good life is. The paragraph suggests that Western moral theories do not accurately describe what most people consider a good life. But that doesn't mean it's impossible. Maybe it's already been done, with Eastern moral theories. Maybe there will be a new Western moral theory developed in the future that accurately describes the good life.

    1% picked this

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