Philosopher: Some of the most

Answer choices

1. A

   Bad Trigger Match2% picked this

   A society should adopt a democratic form of government if and only if most members of the society prefer

   This has the ability to prove "should adopt democracy", so it's worth reading, but the trigger for that would be "most members of society prefer a democratic form of government". We have no idea whether that's true, so we can't trigger this rule based on the evidence.

   2%
2. B

   Correct83% picked this

   In choosing a form of government, it is better for a society to avoid the inherently worst than to

   Why this is right

   This provides the subjective assumption about which of the two forms of rule is better and asserts that averting the worst (i.e., democracy avoids the worst by being consistently mediocre) is better than seeking the best (i.e, opting for rule by a few, since in some cases it results in the best forms of government).

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

   83%
3. C

   Bad Trigger Match7% picked this

   The best form of government is the one that is most likely to produce an outcome that is

   This rule would potentially have the power to prove that "democracy is the best form of government", which could work with our conclusion. But the trigger for the rule is "most likely to produce an outcome that is on the whole good". Do we know that democracy is most likely to produce an outcome that's on the whole good? No. The argument doesn't use any language like "on the whole good". We know democracy is consistently mediocre. Can we say that something mediocre is "on the whole good"? That seems like a stretch. There are other forms of government that can produce better outcomes. And we don't know, when it comes to "rule of the few", whether you're more likely to get an inherently best government or an inherently worse government. We know either outcome is possible, but the stimulus provides no way of gauging which one is more likely. So there's just no way, from the evidence offered, for us to say that democracy is the form of government most likely to produce an outcome that's on the whole good.

   7%
4. D

   Bad Conclusion Match / Weakens4% picked this

   Democratic governments are not truly equitable unless they are designed to prevent interest groups from exerting undue influence

   This would have the power to prove that "democratic governments are not truly equitable", which if anything would go against our conclusion.

   4%
5. E

   Bad Evidence Match5% picked this

   It is better to choose a form of government on the basis of sound philosophical reasons than on

   In order to use this rule to then choose democracy, we'd need to know that democracy is supported by sound philosophical reasons (whereas other forms are supported by popular preference). The evidence doesn't talk about anything like that, comparing the basis for choosing one form over the other. All we have to go off is "consistently mediocre" vs. "might get the best, might get the worst", so our principle has to make use of those ideas.

   5%