#21- Genuine happiness consists not in pleasurable feelings

[izzy_tingles]

Could we use diagramming to get to the correct answer? For instance I'm thinking of the three valid some/most inferences, where one inference is:
Premise: A B
Premise: A C
Inference: B C

So, in this case, it would be:
H = happiness, AC = approval of one's character, MV = morally virtuous life
Premise: H AC
Premise: H MV
Inference: AC MV

This inference would match B? I know this isn't an exact match, but I wonder if this principle is correct. Thank you!

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Izzy,

I think you are trying to push for conditional reasoning where it really isn't. You could say the good life morally virtuous. That doesn't really help us get to the right answer. The other phrasing is less than conditional, using words like "tends to" in order to link concepts. A conditional statement has to be a very strong relationship. If you know the sufficient is true, you know the necessary is true EVERY time. Anything less is not conditional, and cannot be diagrammed with the all arrow.

Hope that helps!

[jk3530]

I understood that the argument's gap is between approving of one’s own character and projects and leading a morally virtuous life. But I was thrown off because the conclusion seems to make two distinct claims: (1) that a happy life is not one of material well-being, and (2) that it is a morally virtuous one. So I thought either point could be the one that needed to be supported.

I didn’t choose B because I initially thought it was going in the wrong direction. It says that people who approve of their character and projects tend to lead morally virtuous lives. But I thought it should say the reverse—that people who lead morally virtuous lives tend to approve of their own character. Also wouldn't it be required that ppl w/ material well-being do not necessarily approve of their character and projects?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi jk,

The conclusion is making two claims, such as contrasting what the good life does and does not entail, and the answer could have supported either one. In practice, though, it's more likely that the answer will focus on the what the good life does entail (a morally virtuous life), as the other part is really just included to distinguish the ideas.

A reasonable prephrase would link approval of one's character to morally virtuous lives, which helps identifyng Answer B as correct. Of course, it is important to keep an open mind when reading the answers as the correct answer won't always match your prephrase, even if the prephrase is a good one.

If you haven't already done so, I'd recommend reading Charlie's (Post #15) and James's (Post #18) earlier posts.

They can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=482&t=10647&start=10

As James mentions in his post, the order of Answer B is correct because you want to go from the premise to the conclusion, not the other way around. In other words, you want an answer that basically states "people who have characteristic A (which is in the premise) tend to have characteristic B (which is in the conclusion)."

I agree that the argument does assume that material well being does not always guarantee approval of one's character and projects. Otherwise, the distinction "not ... as a life of material well-being" wouldn't really make sense. Just to be clear, however, that is different than what Answer E states.

[misheleleee]

Hi! I got this question wrong by chooseing E over B. I see how B is correct but I'm having some trouble eliminating E.

I tried using the Negation technique, which led to E. The negation, "Material well-being does increase approval of one's character and projects" made me think that if this were true, then it is possible that the good life can be understood in terms of material well-being.

Why is this thinking incorrect?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi misheleleee!

The conclusion of this stimulus brings in new material--a "morally virtuous life," for example, doesn't occur in the premises. The conclusion is that the happy life tends to be the good life, understood as a morally virtuous life.

We therefore want an answer that bridges the gap between the premises and the new element. From that perspective, answers (A) and (B) might both seem like contenders, because they are the only two answer choices that mention a morally virtuous life. That is missing in answer choice (E), which prevents it from bridging the gap.

Even if we suppose that material well-being does increase one's sense of approval of one's character and projects, that doesn't make the argument fall apart that the happy life tends to be the good life, understood as a morally virtuous life. It's possible that material well-being does increase this sense of approval but nevertheless that the happy life still tends to be the good life understood as a morally virtuous life. We can consequently eliminate (E) since its negation doesn't make the argument fall apart.