Logical Reasoning

PT130 · S1 · Q21 Columnist: Although there is

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Columnist: Although there is and should be complete freedom of thought and expression, that does not mean that there is nothing wrong with exploiting depraved popular tastes for the sake of financial gain.

Principle

There should be complete freedom of thought and expression, as there is. But it's still wrong to exploit depraved popular tastes for the sake of financial gain.

Evaluation

Usually, principles are conditional statements. This one, though, seems more like balancing ideas that are somewhat in tension. Yes, we should allow free expression, but we can still condemn when people try to make money off other people's depraved tastes.

I think this is saying something like,

Goal

Look for a situation where we're scorning someone for doing X, but not forbidding them to do X, where X is meant to make money off of people's unhealthy tastes.

21.

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

  1. The government should grant artists

    Half Scope

    This has the "let them do X" part, but not the part about "scorn them for making money off people's depraved tastes".

    2% picked this

  2. People who produce depraved movies

    Half Scope

    This has the "let them do X" part, but not the part about "scorn them for making money off people's depraved tastes". (For a second there, I thought I had accidentally predicted the topic of the correct answer!)

    7% picked this

  3. Correct

    There should be no laws

    Why this is right

    This combines both things we wanted: you're free to do it, but we can still scold you for doing it.

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

    77% picked this

  4. The public has the freedom

    Opposite

    If the government can limit was sort of recordings are produced, then we haven't achieved the "complete freedom of expression" the principle discussed. In addition, this answer doesn't have the 2nd ingredient, which says that "we can still say that what you did was wrong, even though you're free to do it".

    12% picked this

  5. One who advocates complete freedom

    Opposite

    This starts off bad because it's talking about people who advocate complete freedom of speech, when the principle is not about advocates of freedom, it's about there actually being freedom. The 2nd ingredient is drifting towards the opposite, saying that we should not criticize depraved things. The principle says we can still criticize people for trying to make money off depraved things.

    2% picked this

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