Theories generated by scientific research

Answer choices

1. A

   Weak Match16% picked this

   Individuals who develop something that has desirable characteristics should not be held responsible for any undesirable characteristics that the

   This appealingly is a rule about "should not be held responsible", but it doesn't clearly apply to the situation with the scientists. 1. Did the scientists develop something that has desirable characteristics? Not sure. We were told that one several of the products developed on the basis of that research were "useful", so I guess that's an okay match. The research had the desirable characteristic of being useful. 2. Was the "something" improperly used? Was the research improperly used? Not sure. We know that the research was used to develop some useful products, and the product have negative environmental effects. But "improper use" sounds more like you used a product not as it was intended.

   16%
2. B

   Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

   Individuals are justified in performing an activity that has both desirable and undesirable foreseeable consequences only if they

   This one's not worth reading if we scan it and don't see any language that sounds like "whether or not someone should be held responsible" for something. This conversation isn't about concluding that someone was / wasn't justified in performing an activity.

   1%
3. C

   Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

   Individuals should receive credit for the foreseeable desirable consequences of the activities they perform only if those individuals are to be held responsible for

   This one's not worth reading if we scan it and don't see any language that sounds like "whether or not someone should be held responsible" for something. Whether or not someone should receive credit for desirable stuff is not what we're talking about. We're talking about whether or not someone should receive blame for undesirable stuff.

   1%
4. D

   Correct82% picked this

   Individuals who perform an activity should not be held responsible for any unforeseen undesirable consequences that arise from the use to which others

   Why this is right

   This, appealingly, is a rule that lets us conclude that someone shouldn't be held responsible. Does it apply to our scientists? Yes. They performed an activity (did research and generated theories). There were unforeseen undesirable consequences (other people put the results of this research into the activity of developing products that ended up having a damaging effect on the environment). So according to this rule, we shouldn't hold these scientists responsible.

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

   82%
5. E

   Bad Premise/Conclusion Match1% picked this

   Individuals should be held responsible for the foreseeable undesirable consequences of the activities that they perform and receive credit for the foreseeable

   This is a rule saying that people should be held responsible. But we're looking for a rule that allows us to say that scientists shouldn't be held responsible. And we're talking about whether to hold scientists responsible for unforeseeable consequences of their research, while this is rule about the foreseeable consequences.

   1%