The difference between manners and morals is that the former are neces

Question

The difference between manners and morals is that the former are necessarily social in nature whereas the latter are not necessarily social in nature. So the rules of etiquette do not apply when one is alone.

The state above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following inferences?

A. One could be immoral without ever having caused any other person any harm. 
B. No immoral act could be a violation of the rules of etiquette. 
C. The rules of morality apply only when one is alone. 
D. It is more important to be moral than to have good manners. 
E. What is social in nature could not be a matter of morality.

Source: LSAT.

jrk23 · Answer

Didn't get this question. Anyone please explain in details. What these options and argument are...and how they are related.

ravigupta2912 · Answer

The difference between manners and morals is that the former are necessarily social in nature whereas the latter are not necessarily social in nature. So the rules of etiquette do not apply when one is alone.

Manners = necessarily social
Morals = not necessarily social
Rules of etiquette = don't apply when one is alone AKA rules are etiquette are about manners (morality - maybe?)

A. One could be immoral without ever having caused any other person any harm. -- Correct. Since morals are not necessarily social therefore, one can be immoral in private while being mannered in socials.

B. No immoral act could be a violation of the rules of etiquette. -- Not all moral acts are "not social". Some may be social, some not. Those immoral acts which are social could violate the rules of etiquette. Incorrect.

C. The rules of morality apply only when one is alone. -- "only" is incorrect. The stem says "not necessarily". Sufficient but not necessary condition. Incorrect.

D. It is more important to be moral than to have good manners. -- Completely irrelevant. Eliminate.

E. What is social in nature could not be a matter of morality. -- Similar to B. Morality can be social or private (not social). Eliminate.

taru23 · Answer

Something wrong about this question. A, B and E could possibly be inferred.

yc168 · Answer

OE for reference:

Overview:   This passage first draws a distinction between manners and morals: Manners necessarily involve a social element; morality does not necessarily involve a social element. Then the passage spells out what this means in the case of manners. You are asked to identify the answer choice that is most strongly supported by these statements.

The Correct Answer:

A  The passage claims that the rules of etiquette—manners—are necessarily social in nature, that is, they apply only when other people are involved. And it claims that morals differ from manners in that morals are not necessarily social in nature, that is, morals can apply when no other people are involved. So it must be possible to violate the rules of morality when no other people are involved. And if no other people are involved, no other people are harmed. So (A) is supported by the statements in the passage.

The Incorrect Answer Choices:

B  According to the passage, manners are necessarily social in nature, but morals are not necessarily social in nature. This leaves open the possibility that immoral acts are sometimes social in nature. So the passage leaves open the possibility that there are immoral acts that are also violations of the rules of etiquette.

C  The passage, by saying that morals do not necessarily involve other people, implies that there are cases in which the rules of morality apply when a person is alone, but the passage does not support the position that those rules apply only then.

D  The passage does not differentiate between morality and manners in terms of their importance. Thus the statements do not support (D).

E  The passage says that morals are not necessarily social in nature, which leaves open the possibility that some things that are social in nature are subject to the rules of morality.

The difference between manners and morals is that the former are neces

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The difference between manners and morals is that the former are neces

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