Physician: The patient is suffering

Answer choices

1. A

   Bad Description12% picked this

   In treating a patient who has one or the other of two diseases, it is more important to treat the diseases than to determine

   This says treating the disease matters more than diagnosing it. The physician's reasoning is not about ranking treatment over diagnosis — diagnosis is impossible here, not deprioritized. The physician is choosing among treatment strategies based on which scenario allows for success, not arguing that diagnosis is unimportant.

   12%
2. B

   Opposite1% picked this

   If circumstances beyond a decision maker’s control will affect the outcome of the decision maker’s actions, the decision maker must

   This is the reverse of the physician's logic. The physician assumes the favorable circumstance (it is Y, which is treatable). This principle says assume the unfavorable. If the physician followed this, they would assume it is X (untreatable) and not even attempt treatment — the opposite move.

   1%
3. C

   Bad Description11% picked this

   When the soundness of a strategy depends on the truth of a certain assumption, the first step in putting the strategy into effect must

   This says test the assumption first. But the physician's situation is precisely that no test is available — testing is impossible. So this principle does not match. The physician must act without testing, which is the opposite of what this principle prescribes.

   11%
4. D

   Correct55% picked this

   When success is possible only if a circumstance beyond one’s control is favorable, then one’s strategy must be based on the assumption that

   Why this is right

   This nails the physician's reasoning. Success (curing the patient) is only possible if it is Y — that is, only if the uncontrollable circumstance (which disease the patient has) is favorable. The physician's strategy is then based on the assumption that this circumstance is favorable: treat as if it is Y. Apply the principle, and the physician's reasoning falls out as a direct application.

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

   55%
5. E

   Bad Description21% picked this

   When only one strategy carries the possibility of success, circumstances must as much as possible be changed

   This says change circumstances to fit the strategy. The physician cannot change which disease the patient has — the circumstance is fixed and unknowable. The principle the physician is following is to act as if the circumstance is favorable, not to alter the circumstance.

   21%