aadikamagic wrote:
Hanlon’s Razor cautions that one should never attribute to malice that which can instead be attributed to stupidity. But my roommate knew that my prize cactus should only be watered once a week, so it is clear that by overwatering the plant he intended to destroy it.
Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the argument?
A very nice question; I found it tricky even though it is tagged as a sub 600 level question. Note that the word
malice means having an ill/bad intention.
Key takeaways1. The opening line of the passage says that an act of stupidity should not be concluded as an act of malice
2. The passage then concludes with an example that states how the roommate over watered the plant despite knowing that over watering will kill the plant
2.a. In other words, the author says that his/her roommate did this knowingly and hence this is an outcome of malice
2.b. Another indicator of this ill intention is the opening words of the second sentence of the passage (highlighted)
How do we weaken this conclusion?The conclusion is that the roommate's action was a result of malice. Hence, in order to weaken this conclusion we need to show that the roommate's action was NOT a result of malice
A. Intending to destroy a plant is a form of maliceThis is strengthening the conclusion by saying that the intention is a form of malice
B. The roommate resented being obliged to water the cactusThis is strengthening the conclusion by saying that the roommate did not like the responsibility to water the plant and hence might have over watered to vent out anger
C. The roommate expressed great sorrow upon being told that he was responsible for the death of the cactusThis one says that he showed sorrow but does not tell us his intention a. Might have falsely enacted being sorrowful or b. Might actually regret his actions. As this can go both ways we can eliminate this option
D. The roommate is a member of a local botanical societyThis is general information and neither strengthens or weakens the conclusion
E. The roommate was unaware of the amount of water the cactus was to be givenThis one weakens the conclusion by stating that the roommate did not knowingly overwatered the plants and hence the actions were not an outcome of malice
Ans.
E