Logical Reasoning

PT157 · S2 · Q25 Columnist: Consent forms filled out by

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Columnist: Consent forms filled out by subjects prior to their participation in tests of experimental medicines designed to treat the diseases from which they are suffering show that almost all subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances.

Conclusion

This casts doubt on the claim that many test subjects resent being given placebos or resent being given medicines that turn out to be ineffective.

rephrase: there aren't lots of people who participate in clinical trials of new meds and resent it when they are given a placebo or when the experimental med turns out to be a dud.

Evidence

Consent forms that medical test subjects fill out before medical tests show that almost all of these subjects accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances.

Evaluate

If we accept that subjects of clinical trials sign a consent form accepting the risks of a clinical trial (i.e. You might be given an inert placebo / The drug we're testing might not actually work), can we still argue that people resent getting the placebo or getting an ineffective drug?

Sure! It's very possible that the test subjects could accept the risk of receiving ineffective substances and then still feel resentment later on. So, the forms that they complete before the tests do not cast doubt on a claim about them feeling resentment at a later time.

Suppose that every time you went to see a movie, you had to first sign a consent form acknowledging the risk that you'd be exposed to a lot of pre-film commercials and that you might not like the film.

We'd all sign that, because we understand that we are risking those things when we go see a movie. But that doesn't stop us from resenting how many commercials there are prior to the film or from resenting how much the film sucked (if it was bad).

Goal

Look for an answer saying you can consent to something and still resent when it happens.

25.

The reasoning in the columnist's argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

  1. infers that two phenomena are

    Bad Flaw Description

    Saying the author infers X from the claim that Y means that we should check whether Y matches the Evidence and whether X matches the Conclusion (or some idea the author assumes en route to the conclusion). Did the evidence talk about "many instances in which two phenomena are both present"? Not really. If we were being charitable, we could say the premise says that there are many instances when "participating in clinical trial" and "consenting to accept risk of ineffective substances" are both present. Did the author then conclude, "There's a correlation between participating in a clinical trial and consenting to accept risk"? No. The author concluded, "It seems like people don't resent being given an ineffective substance".

    9% picked this

  2. uses as evidence the opinions

    Bad Flaw Description

    Famous Flaw Bait: Inappropriate Appeals Bad Evidence Match Is the evidence giving us the opinions of people unqualified to make informed judgements about placebos? No. It just says almost all people participating in clinical trials sign a form consenting to the risk of receiving an ineffective substance. The argument also has nothing to do with judging the scientific value of placebos.

    5% picked this

  3. uses evidence drawn from a

    Bad Flaw Description

    The sample used in the evidence is just "subjects who participated in tests of experimental medicines", and the conclusion is also about such test subjects. There is no indication that the sample is different from or unrepresentative of the relevant population. The people filling out consent forms are the same people who may or may not feel resentment later.

    9% picked this

  4. Correct

    takes for granted that most

    Why this is right

    Since this begins with presumes / takes for granted, we analyze it like a Necessary Assumption answer. Is the argument assuming that most test subjects do not change their attitudes? We know that the word "not" is very lovable on NA, and it causes us to use the negation test. Would it weaken the argument if we said, "Hey author, most test subjects change their attitudes about the risk of ineffective substances once they're actually taking such substances"? Sure! The author's argument was, "Since they consented to the risk of ineffective substances, it seems untrue to say they resented receiving an ineffective substance". This negation would let us say, "no, both things are true. They were okay with the risk when they signing consent forms prior to the clinical trial, but then later they resented actually getting the ineffective substance." The author's argument was essentially the same as, "Since Vicky chose to take her vacation in Germany, it must be untrue to say she regretted taking her vacation in Germany." Why? Why can't both things be true? At one point, she thought going to Germany would be a good idea, but later on, once she actually experienced Germany, she changed her mind. We're saying the same thing here. People thought they'd be ok with receiving the ineffective substance but later on, upon actually experiencing that outcome, they found out they actually hated it.

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

    69% picked this

  5. draws a conclusion that is

    Bad Flaw Description

    The conclusion is not a moral claim. It's descriptive. It's saying, "I don't think it's true that many of these people felt resentment". There's nothing about right/wrong within that claim. It's just about whether they did/didn't experience a certain feeling.

    7% picked this

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