Jacks aunt gave him her will, asking him to make it public when she

Question

Jack’s aunt gave him her will, asking him to make it public when she died; he promised to do so. After her death, Jack looked at the will: it stipulated that all her money go to her friend George. Jack knew that if he made the will public, George would squander the money benefiting neither George nor anyone else. Jack also knew that if he did not make the will public, the money would go to his own mother, who would use it to benefit herself and others, harming no one. After reflection, he decided not to make the will public.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, would require Jack to act as he did in the situation described?

(A) Duties to family members take priority over duties to people who are not family members.

(B) Violating a promise is impermissible whenever doing so would become known by others.

(C) One must choose an alternative that benefits some and harms no one over an alternative that harms some and benefits no one.

(D) When faced with alternatives it is obligatory to choose whichever one will benefit the greatest number of people.

(E) A promise becomes nonbinding when the person to whom the promise was made is no longer living.

Vikassingla · Accepted Answer

Answer to the Question is D

(C) One must choose an alternative that benefits some and harms no one over an alternative that harms some and benefits no one. -  Nowhere in the Passage it is mentioned that if money goes to George he/she will use it to harm someone. hence this option is partially incorrect.

(D) When faced with alternatives it is obligatory to choose whichever one will benefit the greatest number of people. -  it is mentioned in the passage that giving money to George will not benefit anyone including George However if money is given to his mother She will use it to benefit herself and others.

yashikaaggarwal · Answer

D should be the answer. As Jack morale made him feel obliged to think about the betterment of many people which his mother will do rather than wasting the money by giving it to George.

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h31337u · Answer

Jack’s aunt gave him her will, asking him to make it public when she died; he promised to do so. After her death, Jack looked at the will: it stipulated that all her money go to her friend George. Jack knew that if he made the will public,  George would squander the money benefiting neither George nor anyone else . Jack also knew that if he did not make the will public, the money would go to his own mother, who would use it to  benefit herself and others, harming no one.  After reflection, he decided not to make the will public.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, would require Jack to act as he did in the situation described?

(A) Duties to family members take priority over duties to people who are not family members.
 out of scope  
(B) Violating a promise is impermissible whenever doing so would become known by others.
 out of scope 
(C) One must choose an alternative that benefits some and harms no one over an alternative that harms some and benefits no one.
  correct. benefit some but harm no one. highlight in green in the argument above 
(D) When faced with alternatives it is obligatory to choose whichever one will benefit the greatest number of people.
 out of scope 
(E) A promise becomes nonbinding when the person to whom the promise was made is no longer living.
 out of scope

TheNightKing · Answer

(C) One must choose an alternative that benefits some and harms no one over an alternative that harms some and benefits no one. -  This is more in line with argument. His mom will surely benefit some and not harm anyone. This has to be the answer.
 
(D) When faced with alternatives it is obligatory to choose whichever one will benefit the greatest number of people. -  "Obligatory" goes a bit too far I believe. Also there is no mention that his mom will benefit the greatest number of people.

TumharaFaizal · Answer

IMO (E) should be the answer because that was a pre-requisite for Jack to make any further choice.

i256 · Answer

IMO - D

(A) Duties to family members take priority over duties to people who are not family members. - doesn't define the principle, i.e. the decision for choosing family vs Grandma's friend  incorrect

(B) Violating a promise is impermissible whenever doing so would become known by others. - same as above  incorrect

(C) One must choose an alternative that benefits some and harms no one over an alternative that harms some and benefits no one. -  nowhere are we talking about 'harm'- irrelevant and incorrect

(D) When faced with alternatives it is obligatory to choose whichever one will benefit the greatest number of people. -  apt, and fits Jack's decision making . Best answer, correct

(E) A promise becomes nonbinding when the person to whom the promise was made is no longer living. - still doesn't explain why jack would make the decision to go with family vs grandma's friend. He could still choose to do/not do so  incorrect

MI800byNik · Answer

C is a trap answer, D is the right answer.

Detailed Reading would solve you to choose accurate option. Thanks.

ShenotShih1017 · Answer

A: Could be, but if we accept this as true, he also has a duty to his grandmother. At best this would become a moral dilemma. Doesn’t explain his choice adequately.

B: Irrelevant

C: This is the trap answer. The answer specifically says “You must choose an option that benefits some and harms none over an option that benefits no one and harms some.” However, the choice you’re provided is one choice that benefits no one and harms no one and another that benefits some and harms no one. The choice offers no guidance on what to do in this situation.

D: This is the answer. If you are obligated to make the choice that benefits the greatest number of people, and giving the money to your mom benefits some and giving it to George benefits no one, you are obligated to give it to your mom.

E: You could choose to keep a promise even if you are not obligated to do so. This does not explain his behavior.

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DmitryFarber · Answer

This question is more like an LSAT question than a GMAT question, but it is definitely valid. It's an example of a Principle Support question, which is basically an abstract form of Strengthen. Specifically, we've been asked for a principle that would REQUIRE Jack to act as he did. In other words, we're in the unusual situation of looking for a strengthener that actually PROVES the conclusion correct. That's not normally what we want. C or E might seem to be in line with Jack's reasoning, but that doesn't matter for this question, because neither one would force him to act as he did.

A) Both his aunt (to whom he made the promise) and his mother (who would benefit) are family members, so this gives no guidance at all. If anything, this might lean us the other way. We could say he had a duty to his aunt (because of the promise) but not to his mother, whom he simply decided to help out.

B) We want a principle that tells him he MUST violate the promise, not one that says it's impermissible to do so.

C) This principle might look appealing, but it doesn't apply here. The text never said that giving money to Jack would harm anyone. It just wouldn't benefit anyone. Since no harm is involved either way, this principle doesn't tell us what to do.

D) He has two options: 1) benefit no one or 2) benefit his mom and others. If the principle tells him to choose whichever option benefits the most people, then he is REQUIRED to choose option 2. Some people is definitely more than NO people.

So D actually forces Jack's decision to be correct.

E) All this does is tell us that Jack no longer has to keep his promise. That doesn't actually tell him what decision to make. He has freedom to choose, so he's not forced down either path.

So D actually forces Jack's decision to be correct. E) All this does is tell us that Jack no longer has to keep his promise. That doesn't actually tell him what decision to make. He has freedom to choose, so he's not forced down either path.

VerbalBot · Answer

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Jacks aunt gave him her will, asking him to make it public when she

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