#23 - Ethicist: It would be a mistake to say that just

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Method of Reasoning – AP. The correct answer choice is (B)

The ethicist in this stimulus states that a person deserves praise for doing what is right, even if that
person is not inclined to do wrong. The ethicist asserts that while people are considered virtuous
for resisting a wrongful desire, they are no less virtuous if they have successfully extinguished such
desires completely.

The question stem asks what role in the argument is played by the assertion that people are
considered especially virtuous if they successfully resist a desire to do wrong. The referenced
phrase provides some conventional wisdom: Those who can suppress wrongful desires are often
considered especially virtuous. The author references this belief in order to then refute its overly
broad application, with the assertion that those who have successfully extinguished wrongful desires
actually deserve the same consideration.

Answer choice (A): The author does not attempt to justify the referenced claim; on the contrary, the
ethicist goes on to refute the belief that it is more virtuous to resist desires than to extinguish them.

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. The author references this point in order to
later refute its overly exclusive application: Although those who can suppress wrongful desires are
considered by some to be especially virtuous, the ethicist asserts that we cannot conclude that those
who have extinguished such desires are any less virtuous.

Answer choice (C): While a refutation of the referenced claim is offered, the author does not specify
that this claim is a primary obstacle to an adequate conception of virtue, so this answer choice is
incorrect.

Answer choice (D): The language in this answer choice is stronger than intended by the assertions in
the stimulus. The author does not assert that it is false to consider those who can suppress wrongful
desires as virtuous, but rather that those who are able to extinguish such desires deserve the same
consideration.

Answer choice (E): The phrase in question serves as a premise to be refuted, not as evidence of the
ethicist’s conclusion, so this answer choice is incorrect.

[agroves]

Hello,

Can you please explain how you were able to distinguish B as a better AC than D in this question? The wording in B tripped me up a bit and I'm having trouble explaining why B is better than D.

Thanks!

Angela

[BethRibet]

Hi Angela,

Thanks for your question!

D can be ruled out because it actually is not supported by the passage. Nothing in the argument suggests that the "commonly held opinion" is actually "false", only that even if/though true, it does not have to mean that other kinds of virtue deserve no praise.

The ethicist is saying that this belief (i.e. those who resist wrongdoing are most virtuous) does not adequately justify the claim that those who are not tempted by wrongdoing deserve no praise, an argument that the author concludes is false. That is the meaning of answer choice B.

Hope this helps!

Beth

[agroves]

Got it, thanks!

[Applesaid]

Hello!

I guess I have trouble with this one because I cannot understand the stimulus itself.

My thinking process is like this: Just because one is not likely to do wrong, saying that one does not deserve to be praised for doing right would be a mistake. This is because although we thought people are especially virtuous if they successfully resist doing wrong, they are certainly no less virtuous if they have succeeded in extinguishing all such desires (I guess this means those who have the desire to do wrong but successfully resisted the desire is no less virtuous if they put an end to those desires, meaning unlikely to do wrong).

Really strange one. Cannot understand the correct answer choice itself either.

[David Boyle]

Hello!

I guess I have trouble with this one because I cannot understand the stimulus itself.

My thinking process is like this: Just because one is not likely to do wrong, saying that one does not deserve to be praised for doing right would be a mistake. This is because although we thought people are especially virtuous if they successfully resist doing wrong, they are certainly no less virtuous if they have succeeded in extinguishing all such desires (I guess this means those who have the desire to do wrong but successfully resisted the desire is no less virtuous if they put an end to those desires, meaning unlikely to do wrong).

Really strange one. Cannot understand the correct answer choice itself either.

Hello,

"Likely" doesn't necessarily equal "inclined". --The stim says that you can be praised for being good even if you didn't want to be bad in the first place. We think people are good for resisting temptation; but it's just as good if you are a "saint" who doesn't have any evil desires in the first place, and thus isn't tempted at all.
So answer choice B is right, because "people are good for resisting temptation" doesn't justify saying folks shouldn't be praised for being good if those folks didn't want to do bad in the first place.

David

[Sherry001]

Hello ;
I had trouble choosing between B and E! Could you please take a look at my reasoning for the answer choices . I only went with B because I saw E as, stating that it relies on the quoted premise to draw the conclusion .


Q type : method of reasoning (part)

P1: for although we usually consider people virtuous when they are successful at resisting the desire to do wrong.

P2: these people are still virtuous if they have succeeded extinguishing the desire . ( meeting the end result even without having had to resist )

C: it would be a mistake to say just because someone isn't likely to act otherwise , they don't deserve to be praised for doing what is right.


A)it's not the conclusion.

B)it makes an observation that according to the argument , is insufficient ( even if they don't resists , the fact that they have been meeting the end result ) to justify the claim that the argument concludes is false ( it's wrong to stay that they don't deserve praise , because they do).

C) there's no primary obstacle in the stimulus.

D) there no common misconception in the stimulus.

E)this doesn't need to serve as the truth for the conclusion . The conclusion would still follow even if the statement were absent. Instead this is an extra or additional premise. (Sort of like looking at the other side of the coin ) but we don't need it to draw the conclusion.
Truth be told.. I have no clue what E even means !

Thank you
Sherry

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hi Sherry,

I love your deconstruction of this argument... you're spot-on regarding answer choice (B).

The conclusion is the first part of the stimulus; the remainder ("for" is a premise indicator) serves to clarify this conclusion. The stimulus contains a principle; however, the language they use is so abstract and convoluted that it would benefit from considering it in some context. Let's take, uhm... I don't know. Drinking. According to the author, a recovering alcoholic trying to stay sober is no more virtuous than an Amishman who is not inclined to drink in the first place. That's all there is to it.

Answer choice (B) is a clear winner here: just because the recovering alcoholic is especially virtuous does not mean that the Amishman does not deserve equal praise. In fancy "LSATspeak," the claim that the recovering alcoholic is especially virtuous does not justify the claim that the argument concludes is false (i.e. it's wrong to say that the Amishman, who is not inclined to drink, deserves less praise).

What's wrong with answer choice (E)? Well, the claim in question provides no support for the conclusion: it simply makes an observation that, the author argues, should not have any bearing on the judgments we make about another person. Both the alcoholic and the Amishman are worthy of praise; the fact that one is especially virtuous does not make the other one any less so.

This is a great example of a stimulus where you really need to cut through the bullsh*t and simplify the argument. Using an everyday example is often a great way to achieve that goal

Good job on this one!