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

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.

A is wrong because Pamela's action, although with ill intention, did not cause actual harm.
B is wrong because in order for an action to be morally good, it has to benefit another person, not one's self.
C is wrong because "morally good actions" must benefit another person, so actions with bad consequences can not be "morally good actions"
D is wrong because the Marilees' action is not ill intended, nor she would foresee the choking
E is the correct answer because Jonathan's action ("engrossed in conversation") 1. Caused harm to the kid. 2. It is a careless decision that reasonable forethought would have shown that it is likely to cause harm.

So, E is the answer.

simple logic:
action good : only if it is intended to in order to fulfil that cause.
action bad: harm was either intended or if there's a provision in that action that can harm.

Clearly Jonathan's action of being involved in a conversation could lead to carelessness towards his nephew.
so it was morally a bad action \
Answer : E

E nowhere comes close neither technically nor morally.

The statement simply says that the action will be considered morally bad if any of it were true -
1.) harm intended
2.) reasonable forethought showed that harm would come

Pamela intended the harm and also her thought process told her that harm would come.

(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. - Notice the content in the actual passage: "whereas an action that harms another person is morally bad either if..." So we can say that some harm MUST be done if we want to classify the action as bad. In this example, no harm was done..

(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. - Jeffery's intention was NOT to solve Sara's problem. Intent AND benefit both must be present for an action to be classified as good.

(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. - The last sentence is something we can't be very sure based on the information in the original passage.

(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. - Neither Marilees intended to cause harm, nor she could foresee the choking.

(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. - Correct. Jonathan COULD in fact foresee this accident. He was asked to look after his niece for this very purpose : avoiding any accidents while she played.

E is correct.

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?

Passage deals with morally good action for helping others or with that intention and bad action for harming others or with a forethought for likely harm was given. It, however, doesn't overlaps between the two schools of thoughts. What if good action was intended but instead bad happens or vice-a-versa?

(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. - WORNG. Exactly what passage says but turns in direction it never covers. We don't know what if opposite happens of the intended action.

(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. - WRONG. Totally different action, intention and results are considered.

(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. - WRONG. Red flag is consequences. Even if Teresa forethought, it is difficult to establish the timing(which we are concerned though) of neighbor's fall - the fall could not have foreseen, it can happen with or without forethought. The word inadvertently helps us to solidify our reasoning that this option is wrong.

(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. - WRONG. Two actions are there which cause the option to go in direction not covered in the passage. Man's actions is also a contributor for his choke.

(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. - CORRECT. A forethought was missing thus causing harm to the child.

Answer E.

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