Philosopher: Both the consequences

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope: consequences4% picked this

   one cannot be a moral agent if one lacks a concern for the

   This says Moral Agent ? Concern for consequences The author is only thinking that Free Will and Desire to Conform to Principle are requirements of moral agency. She hasn't mentioned anything suggesting she's assuming that Concern for Consequences is a third requirement.

   4%
2. B

   Correct86% picked this

   desiring to conform to a principle requires

   Why this is right

   This connects the premise, "Moral agency requires a desire to conform to principle", with the conclusion "Moral agency requires free will".

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

   86%
3. C

   Lots of Problems2% picked this

   nobody who acts without taking the consequences of the action into

   1. It's too strong - the author doesn't have to think that "every single person who acts without taking consequences into consideration is not free". 2. Detail drift - whether or not we have free will is a different topic from whether or not we are free. A determinist (someone who thinks all our actions are just products of cause/effect) would say someone in jail is not free, someone out of jail is free, and that neither of them have free will. 3. Dealing with wording that isn't even part of the argument - consequences came from the first sentence, which wasn't part of the argument. The nonetheless pivot meant that the author was not using that first sentence to draw her conclusion; the because claim is the only premise in her argument.

   2%
4. D

   Trap2% picked this

   it is impossible to have desires without also being a

   Detail Drift - desires vs. desire to obey principle Too Strong: impossible This is a very extreme claim: "if you have desires, then you're automatically a moral agent". Our author would probably grant that cows have desires. They desire pasture on which to graze and shade when it's too hot. Is he assuming then that cows are moral agents? Of course not. Also, we wanted to connect "has desire to conform to principle" with "free will", not just "has desires". The former is something we only assume is something mature humans can do, whereas the latter is something that humans share with babies and animals.

   2%
5. E

   Detail Drift7% picked this

   it is impossible to perform morally worthy actions without at some time conforming

   Detail Drift: desiring to conform vs. conforming Too Strong: impossible The author is saying we can't judge you as a moral agent unless we think that you desire to conform to some principle. If you're not wanting to adhere to the Ten Commandments, for example, then I shouldn't be judging your Ten Commandment morality. "Desiring to conform to a principle" is talking about wanting to be moral. Simply conforming to a principle could just mean you were accidentally moral. Is our author promising that "every morally worth action conforms to a principle"? No, nothing so extreme was said or implied.

   7%