Columnist: It is sometimes claimed

Answer choices

1. A

   Opposite / Out of Scope: “fair”3% picked this

   It is sometimes fair to judge the morality of others' actions even without considering all of the circumstances under

   The author presents a case in which we judge morality by considering the surrounding circumstances, so this principle seems to be the opposite of the situation described. Also, it seems out of scope to talk about whether this moral judgment is fair / unfair, since the author is only talking about how we reach our moral judgments, not evaluating the eventual judgments.

   3%
2. B

   Out of Scope: “unfairly”8% picked this

   We sometimes judge unfairly the morality of other

   The author isn’t endorsing or criticizing our method of making moral judgments. She is just describing them. So unfairly judging something is out of scope.

   8%
3. C

   Too Strong: “should” “all” “equally” “regardless”3% picked this

   We should judge all negligent people to be equally morally blameworthy, regardless of the outcomes

   This is way too strong. The author isn’t telling us how we should judge morality, just how we do judge it. This principle is extremely harsh, telling us to judge all cases equally, regardless of any other considerations.

   3%
4. D

   Correct79% picked this

   People are sometimes held morally blameworthy as a result of circumstances some of which were

   Why this is right

   This doesn’t judge people’s moral judgments; it just reiterates the conclusion’s notion that moral judgments go beyond the actor’s intentions and include consequences of that action.

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

   79%
5. E

   Too Strong7% picked this

   The intentions of the person performing an action are rarely a decisive factor in making moral

   Too Strong: “rarely” / Out of Scope: “decisive factor” She argues that moral judgments often go beyond pure intentions, but this answer is saying that moral judgments usually don’t even consider intentions a decisive factor. That’s too strong. The author is only arguing that our moral judgments can include things other than the actor’s intentions, but she might still think that intentions are the most important factor.

   7%