Bunuel wrote:
Terry: Some actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences. But an action is good only if it has favorable consequences. So, some actions considered to be bad by our society are actually good.
Pat: I agree with your conclusion, but not with the reasons you give for it. Some good actions actually do not have favorable consequences. But no actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences, so your conclusion, that some actions our society considers bad are actually good, still holds.
Which one of the following correctly describes both an error in Terry’s reasoning and an error in Pat’s reasoning?
(A) presupposing that if a certain property distinguishes one type of action from another type of action, then that property is one of many properties distinguishing the two types of action
(B) presupposing that if most actions of a certain type share a certain property, then all actions of that type share that property
(C) presupposing that if a certain property is shared by actions of a certain type in a given society, then that property is shared by actions of that type in every society
(D) presupposing that if an action’s having a certain property is necessary for its being a certain type of action, then having that property is sufficient for being that type of action
(E) presupposing that if a certain property is shared by two types of action, then that property is the only property distinguishing the two types of action from actions of other types
Certainly not an easy one !
Terry: Some actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences But an action is good if it has ONLY favorable consequences. So, some actions considered to be bad by our society are actually good.
Pat:no actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences,so your conclusion, that some actions our society considers bad are actually good, still holds.
First let's understand How how Pat interprets Terry's conclusion to still be valid ?
Note Pat's statement: " no actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences"
Terry's conclusion can still hold if those BAD actions that have favorable consequences have been erroneously classified as BAD well as these actions are NOT BAD, these actions should actually come under GOOD category. Hence in that sense some actions that the society considers BAD can still be good. (NOT in the sense that these BAD Actions have favorable outcomes,BUT in the sense that these BAD actions have been wrongly categorized .Hence some actions that the society considers bad are actually good, because these are NOT BAD actions in the first place.)
what is the common flaw in Both Terry's and Pat's reasoning?(A) presupposing that if a certain property distinguishes one type of action from another type of action, then that property is one of many properties distinguishing the two types of action :
Not the flaw, property of favorable outcomes and unfavorable outcomes have only been discussed. That an action can be defined by many other properties is out of scope.INCORRECT.(B)presupposing that if most actions of a certain type share a certain property, then all actions of that type share that property :
This is something only Pat believes ,PAT believes all bad actions are same, this is proved when Pat says " no actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences " this is NOT something Terry believes. Terry believes "Some actions considered to be bad by our society have favorable consequences " Hence Terry does NOT share this rigid view. Hence this is NOT the common flaw.INCORRECT.(C)presupposing that if a certain property is shared by actions of a certain type in a given society, then that property is shared by actions of that type in every society :
Clearly incorrect, DIFFERENT societies have never been discussed here.INCORRECT.(D) presupposing that if an action’s having a certain property is necessary for its being a certain type of action, then having that property is sufficient for being that type of action :
Terry believes an action is good if it has ONLY good outcome. Pat believes all bad actions have ONLY bad outcome. So Terry believes Good outcome is the necessary and sufficient condition for an action to be classified as good. Pat believes bad outcome is the necessary and sufficient condition for an action to be classified as bad. This is the common flaw in both Terry's and Pat's argument. Hence the CORRECT ans.(E) presupposing that if a certain property is shared by two types of action, then that property is the only property distinguishing the two types of action from actions of other types:
Not the flaw , whether the property of favorable outcome /unfavorable outcome is the only property distinguishing good and bad actions is certainly not the flaw in both Pat and Terry's argument.Out of scope .INCORRECT.Ans- D
Hope it's clear.
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