Doctor: It is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research

Question

Doctor: It is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential, even if the companies for which they work would rather that they do so. If research results are not shared, the development of effective medical treatments may be delayed, and thus humans may suffer unnecessarily.

Which of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the doctor's argument?

(A) Medical researchers should never engage in any behavior that they know will cause humans to suffer.

(B) If the most important moral principle is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential.

(C) Medical researchers should not keep information confidential if it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering.

(D) Medical researchers should always attempt to develop effective medical treatments as rapidly as they can while fulfilling their other moral obligations.

(E) It is wrong for any company to ask its medical researchers to keep their research confidential, if failure to share the research might delay development of effective medical treatments.

NHUANH · Answer

this argument conclusion is all about the researchers. Specifically, it says that researchers should not keep their research secret even their company does not wish them to do so. We can safely eliminate any argument not related to researchers.

Let's take a look at the answer choices:

(A) Medical researchers should never engage in any behavior that they know will cause humans to suffer.  =>wrong  because it mentions about the research process not the researcher

(B) If the most important moral principle is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential.  =>wrong  the original conclusion doesn't need this principle to be the most important to say that the researchers are wrong for not sharing their study

(C) Medical researchers should not keep information confidential if it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering. =>BINGO

(D) Medical researchers should always attempt to develop effective medical treatments as rapidly as they can while fulfilling their other moral obligations. =>wrong  again, this one is all about research process not about the researchers

(E) It is wrong for any company to ask its medical researchers to keep their research confidential, if failure to share the research might delay development of effective medical treatments.  =>wrong  this principle is about the company not the researchers

Saasingh · Answer

clearly B vs C. rest can be POE easily.

(B) If the most important moral principle is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential. 
Wrong. "Most important" is not necessary. It might not be MOST IMPORTANT and still be binding to our scenario.

(C) Medical researchers should not keep information confidential if it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering. 
Perfect

Sonia2023 · Answer

The conclusion says that:
 Sufficient -----> Necessary
 
If research results are not shared ---> the development of effective medical treatments may be delayed, and thus humans may suffer unnecessarily.

Contrapositive:
 
If the development of effective medical treatments is not to be delayed, and thus humans may not suffer unnecessarily --> Results should be shared (not kept confidential)

Now what answer choice C states is the contrapositive:

Just tweaked the arrangement a bit:

If it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering, then Medical researchers should not keep information confidential. Matches with the contrapositive of the statement.

Other answer choices:

(A) Medical researchers should never engage in any behavior that they know will cause humans to suffer.

Humans suffer ---> Medical researchers should not engage in that. The choice is no where close to the conclusion or contrapositive of it. Discard.

(B) If the most important moral principle is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential.

Prevent human suffering ---> information to be shared. This answer choice covers the contrapositive but the words used in this answer choice such as most important, wrong are too strong. It's kinda shell game answer.

C) Discussed above.

D and E can be easily eliminated.

unraveled · Answer

Doctor: It is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential, even if the companies for which they work would rather that they do so. If research results are not shared, the development of effective medical treatments may be delayed, and thus humans may suffer unnecessarily.

Which of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the doctor's argument?

(A) Medical researchers  should never engage in any behavior  that they know will cause humans to suffer. - WRONG. Bit extreme but rather more importantly not hitting the core of the argument.

(B)  If the most important moral principle  is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential. - WRONG. 2nd best but a trap. Takes the very thing as evidence that is supposed to be proved. Reversal situation.

(C) Medical researchers  should not keep information confidential  if it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering. - CORRECT. Slight change of language but keeps up to the mark.

(D) Medical researchers  should always attempt to develop  effective medical treatments  as rapidly as  they can while fulfilling their other moral obligations. - WRONG. Nice inference but not the correct answer.

(E) It is  wrong for any company  to ask its medical researchers to keep their research confidential, if failure to share the research might delay development of effective medical treatments. - WRONG. For company or for researchers.

Answer C.

thelastskybender · Answer

(A) Medical researchers should never engage in any behavior that they know will cause humans to suffer. It's not given in the passage whether medical researchers "know"]

(B) If the most important moral principle is to prevent human suffering, then it is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research confidential.

(C) Medical researchers should not keep information confidential if it is possible that sharing that information would prevent some unnecessary human suffering.

(D) Medical researchers should always attempt to develop effective medical treatments as rapidly as they can while fulfilling their other moral obligations.  
 
(E) It is wrong for any company to ask its medical researchers to keep their research confidential, if failure to share the research might delay development of effective medical treatments.

srik410 · Answer

Interesting question.

Conc: It is morally wrong for researchers to not share
Support: research not sharing -> dev delay -> humans may suffer (some facts in the real world)

The blanket assumption that the author has made here is that "any action(researchers not sharing) that causes humans to suffer is morally wrong".

Hence a specific strengthener would be saying/ prescribing "researchers should share if not doing so causes humans to suffer"

Only C aligns with this

Doctor: It is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research

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Doctor: It is wrong for medical researchers to keep their research

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