Find all School-related info fast with the new School-Specific MBA Forum

It is currently 19 May 2013, 00:43
Customize  |  Hide

It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if

  Question banks Downloads My Bookmarks Reviews  
Author Message
TAGS:
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 328
Followers: 1

Kudos [?]: 4 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 00:05
00:00

Question Stats:

0% (00:00) correct 0% (00:00) wrong based on 0 sessions
It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if it benefits another person and was performed with that intention; whereas an action that harms another person is morally bad either if such harm was intended or if reasonable forethought would have shown that the action was likely to cause harm.

Which one of the following judgments most closely confirms to the principle cited above?

(A) Pamela wrote a letter attempting to cause trouble between Edward and his friends; this action of Pamela’s was morally bad, even though the letter, in fact, had an effect directly opposite from the one intended.
(B) In order to secure a promotion, Jeffery devoted his own time to resolving a backlog of medical benefits claims; Jeffrey’s action was morally good since it alone enabled Sara’s claim to be processed in time for her to receive much-needed treatment.
(C) Intending to help her elderly neighbor by clearing his walkway after a snowstorm, Teresa inadvertently left ice on his steps; because of this exposed ice, her neighbor had a bad fall, thus showing that morally good actions can have bad consequences.
(D) Marilees, asked by a homeless man for food, gave the man her own sandwich; however, because the man tried to talk while he was eating the sandwich, it caused him to choke, and thus Marilees unintentionally performed a morally bad action.
(E) Jonathan agreed to watch his three-year-old niece while she played but, becoming engrossed in conversion, did not see her run into the street where she was hit by a bicycle; even though he intended no harm, Jonathan’s action was morally bad.
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 15 Mar 2005
Posts: 434
Location: Phoenix
Followers: 1

Kudos [?]: 7 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
Re: CR - Morally Good [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 00:34
Morally right when right is done AND intended.
Morally wrong when wrong is done AND intended, OR wrong is done and because reasonable thought wasn't applied.

A is wrong - Pamela wanted to do wrong, but no wrong was done.
B is wrong - Right was not done with intention.
C is wrong - Right was intended, Harm was done, but "inadvertantly" - no judgement if reasonable thought would have averted it.
D is wrong - Wrong done, but no wrong intended, or even carelessness.
E is wrong done because of gross carelessness.

Thought C comes close to an answer, E is more striking.
Hence, I'f go with E.
_________________

Who says elephants can't dance?

GMAT Club Legend
GMAT Club Legend
User avatar
Joined: 07 Jul 2004
Posts: 5134
Location: Singapore
Followers: 9

Kudos [?]: 87 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
 [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 01:09
Action is morally good: benefit another person, and intention was good
Action is morally bad: harm anohter person, or the intention was harmful

Which one of the following judgments most closely confirms to the principle cited above?

(A) Pamela wrote a letter attempting to cause trouble between Edward and his friends; this action of Pamela’s was morally bad, even though the letter, in fact, had an effect directly opposite from the one intended.
- Out. Here, we only have intent, and did not have the result.

(B) In order to secure a promotion, Jeffery devoted his own time to resolving a backlog of medical benefits claims; Jeffrey’s action was morally good since it alone enabled Sara’s claim to be processed in time for her to receive much-needed treatment.
- Here we have the result, but not the intent (Jeffery did what he did for his own advantage)

(C) Intending to help her elderly neighbor by clearing his walkway after a snowstorm, Teresa inadvertently left ice on his steps; because of this exposed ice, her neighbor had a bad fall, thus showing that morally good actions can have bad consequences.
- Here, we have a morally good action: good intent (help out on own accord) and benefit another person (the elderly would not have to clear the walkway). However, because a harmful event was experienced by the elderly, it shows that morally good actions can have bad consequences.

(D) Marilees, asked by a homeless man for food, gave the man her own sandwich; however, because the man tried to talk while he was eating the sandwich, it caused him to choke, and thus Marilees unintentionally performed a morally bad action.
- No. A morally bad action must have intent. If it's accidental, then there's no intent.

(E) Jonathan agreed to watch his three-year-old niece while she played but, becoming engrossed in conversion, did not see her run into the street where she was hit by a bicycle; even though he intended no harm, Jonathan’s action was morally bad.
- A morally bad action requires both a harmful action and a harmful intent. Here, we only have an action (niece run down by bicycle) but there's not intent on Jonathan's part (he did not plan for his niece to be run down by a bicycle)

I'll take C
Manager
Manager
Joined: 07 Apr 2005
Posts: 89
Location: Lontano da dove
Followers: 1

Kudos [?]: 0 [0], given: 0

 [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 02:11
I have an inkling that the answer is either C or E. I chose E. I just do not like the end of C, that states, "morally good actions can have bad consequences." I thought that the focus of the passage was on actions being either morally good or bad, not on consequences.
Current Student
User avatar
Joined: 29 Jan 2005
Posts: 5289
Followers: 17

Kudos [?]: 90 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User Reviews Badge
 [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 05:04
E, unquestionably. Jonathan agreed to watch the girl and simply didn`t fulfill his obligation.
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 19 Sep 2004
Posts: 392
Followers: 1

Kudos [?]: 1 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
 [#permalink] New post 03 May 2005, 05:13
E is my pick!
Senior Manager
Senior Manager
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 328
Followers: 1

Kudos [?]: 4 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
 [#permalink] New post 04 May 2005, 02:48
Thanks for the explanation. OA is E.
Director
Director
Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 993
Followers: 2

Kudos [?]: 8 [0], given: 0

GMAT Tests User
 [#permalink] New post 04 May 2005, 08:55
Nice and lengthy Question.

I also got (E).
  [#permalink] 04 May 2005, 08:55
    Similar topics Author Replies Last post
Similar
Topics:
New posts Psychotherapy has been described as a form of moral WinWinMBA 4 18 May 2005, 17:29
New posts Psychotherapy has been described as a form of moral mailtheguru 4 13 Aug 2006, 23:55
Popular new posts 7 A certain moral system holds that performing good actions is vd 55 27 May 2008, 05:26
New posts 1 It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if talk2pk 8 13 Sep 2009, 21:10
New posts Psychotherapy has been described as a form of moral fanatico 4 07 May 2011, 17:45
Display posts from previous: Sort by

It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if

  Question banks Downloads My Bookmarks Reviews  


GMAT Club MBA Forum Home| About| Privacy Policy| Terms and Conditions| GMAT Club Rules| Contact| Sitemap

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group and phpBB SEO

Kindly note that the GMAT® test is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council®, and this site has neither been reviewed nor endorsed by GMAC®.