Ethicist: It would be a mistake to say that just because someone

Bhavanahiremath,

Choice B and choice E both start with, "It [reports/makes] an observation that, according to the argument...", where the observation is that "people are considered especially virtuous if they successfully resist a desire to do what is wrong"

The conclusion is: "It would be a mistake to say that just because someone is not inclined to do otherwise, she or he does not deserve to be praised for doing what is right" Does the observation cited above serve as evidence for the truth of that conclusion? No; in fact, it serves as evidence that people deserve to be praised for doing what is right when they ARE inclined to do otherwise (opposing point). So E can be eliminated.

The claim that the argument concludes is false is: "just because someone is not inclined to do otherwise, she or he does not deserve to be praised for doing what is right." In other words, even though "people are considered especially virtuous if they successfully resist a desire to do what is wrong," this observation is insufficient to justify the claim that people do not deserve to be praised for doing what is right just because they are not inclined to do otherwise.

I hope that helps!

Hello,
This is "SOME" question. Thank you for sharing it. It is really a mind twister.
Please correct me GMATNinjaTwo if my understanding is wrong.
Regards

I don't understand the logic behind this question.Can some expert please explain.

will this question really appear in the real GMAT?
btw, the key word is "although" and "mistake". The latter indicates that the conclusion cannot be proven wrong by the whole premise stands after "although"

Pretty sure this is a retired LSAT question, just judging by the language and the style. The LSAT likes to put philosophical and ethical quandaries in its questions.

The answer choices sound a whole lot like the ones that appear in GMAT boldfaced CR questions. So this sort of thing is useful enough, I guess...

and there is no strategy to cope with such questions?

For some strategies on dealing with boldface CR, check out the advice toward the middle of this chat transcript: https://gmatclub.com/forum/verbal-chat- ... l#p1861859. It's not very polished, but hopefully it will help a little bit. And we'll eventually post a lengthier topic of the week on boldfaced CR later in the year.

And here's another, older thread on boldfaced CR: https://gmatclub.com/forum/strategy-and ... 65576.html. I don't 100% agree with everything in it, but it's a really good, thorough post. And different tactics work for different people, so if you like this one better, go for it.

I ran into a slightly different version of that question which was a boldface. I have therefore included the changes in the quoted text below to take these differences into consideration. Although the question type is different, it essentially asks the same thing and all answer choices are the same but (E).

I only intend to share how I dealt with this question. The first time I read it, I immediately realized I would not manage to understand its meaning in under 2 minutes.

As such, I used pure structure and keywords to go through a process of elimination. I hope it helps!

Step 1 = ID Question Type
We are dealing with a Boldface / Role type of question (Argument Group).

Step 2 = Deconstruct Passage
Not too hard here. It starts with our conclusion (= claim), and from the bold part onward we are dealing with evidence (= observation).

Step 3 = Anticipate Answer
I anticipated "something" that would be true and not a claim.

Step 4 = Answer the Proper Question

Ethicist: It would be a mistake to say that just because someone is not inclined to do otherwise, she or he does not deserve to be praised for doing what is right, for although we do consider people especially virtuous if they successfully resist a desire to do what is wrong, they are certainly no less virtuous if they have succeeded in extinguishing all such desires. The assertion that people are considered especially virtuous if they successfully resist a desire to do what is wrong plays which one of the following roles in the ethicist’s argument?

(A) It is a claim for which the argument attempts to provide justification. - WRONG. Altogether wrong.
(B) It makes an observation that, according to the argument, is insufficient to justify the claim that the argument concludes is false. - CORRECT. There's already a belief but that is not enough to put other side of that belief as wrong. Got screwed with the philosophical language of the passage.
(C) It is a claim, acceptance of which, the argument contends, is a primary obstacle to some people’s having an adequate conception of virtue. - WRONG.
(D) It is, according to the argument, a commonly held opinion that is nevertheless false. - WRONG. Though choice this one with a heavy heart because of 'commonly held opinion', the problem is more with 'nevertheless false'. The latter can't be articulated from the passage.
(E) It reports an observation that, according to the argument, serves as evidence for the truth of its conclusion. - WRONG. Certainly helps the conclusion but in a manner that we can say it is evidence.

Answer B.

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