Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT125 S4 Q17 Explanation

Ethicist: An action is wrong

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsPrinciple-Conform

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Stimulus

Ethicist: An action is wrong if it violates a rule of the society in which the action is performed and that rule promotes the general welfare of people in the society. An action is right if it is required by a rule of the society in which the general welfare of the people in that society.

What this question is testing

Principle-Conform

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
17.

Which one of the following judgments most closely conforms to the principle cited

Answer choices

  1. Negation4% picked this

    Amelia's society has a rule against lying. However, she lies anyway in order to protect an innocent person from being harmed. While the rule

    No argument could conform ~AW to a stated principle and also conclude that an action is not wrong.

  2. Wrong Evidence2% picked this

    Jordan lives in a society that requires its members to eat certain ceremonial foods during festivals. Jordan disobeys this rule. Because the rule is

    This argument rests on evidence AVR + ~RDW that does not meet the sufficient condition of the first principle. Just because the rule is not detrimental to the welfare of the people in Jordan’s society | does not mean that the rule promotes the welfare of her society.

  3. Wrong Evidence3% picked this

    Elgin obeys a certain rule of his society. Because Elgin knows that this particular rule is detrimental to the general welfare of the people

    This argument does not meet ~AVR + ~RPW the sufficient conditions of the first principle. Since Elgin does not violate a rule of his society, it cannot be established that Elgin’s action was wrong.

  4. Wrong Evidence1% picked this

    Dahlia always has a cup of coffee before getting dressed in the morning. Dahlia's action is right because it does not violate any rule

    Dahlia’s action is being judged ~APR + ~RPW by the second principle. Since her action is not required by a| rule of her society that promotes the general welfare of the people of that society, it cannot be established that her action was right.

  5. Correct90% picked this

    Edward's society requires children to take care of their aged parents. Edward's taking care of his aged parents is the right thing for him

    Why this is right

    Since Edward’s action is APR + RPW → AR required by a rule of his society and the rule promotes the general welfare of the people in | his society, Edwards action is right.

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

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