Philosopher: Both the consequences and the motives of human actions ha

Question

Philosopher: Both the consequences and the motives of human actions have bearing on the moral worth of those actions. Nonetheless, to be a moral agent one must have free will, because one cannot be a moral agent without desiring to conform to a principle.

The philosopher's argument requires the assumption that

(A)  one cannot be a moral agent if one lacks a concern for the consequences of actions

(B)  desiring to conform to a principle requires free will

(C)  nobody who acts without taking the consequences of the action into consideration is free

(D)  it is impossible to have desires without also being a moral agent

(E)  it is impossible to perform morally worthy actions without at some time conforming to a principle

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

The wording of this passage is slippery! Let's break down the second sentence of the passage, in which you will find both the philosopher's conclusion and his/her support for that conclusion:

The philosopher concludes that "to be a moral agent one must have free will."

This conclusion is supported by the assertion that "one cannot be a moral agent without desiring to conform to a principle." Logically, this means that to be a moral agent one MUST have the desire to conform to a principle.

In your analysis you've correctly identified a gap between the philosopher's conclusion and his/her support for that conclusion: how does one's "desire to conform to a principle" somehow mean they "must have free will?"

Here is the question stem:
 
So, we know that we are looking for a statement that MUST be true in order for the conclusion to be logically sound.

Take a look at answer choice (B):
 
How would this statement fit into the structure of the argument? Let's rearrange the passage to make it clear:

SUPPORT: To be a moral agent requires the desire to conform to a principle 
 ANSWER CHOICE (B): desiring to conform to a principle requires free will 
 CONCLUSION: Therefore, "to be a moral agent one must have free will."

This answer choice perfectly fills in the logical gap between the conclusion and the support for that conclusion. More than that, it MUST be true in order for the argument to be logically sound. So, (B) is the assumption required by the argument.

I hope that helps!

KarishmaB · Answer

Conclusion: To be a moral agent one must have free will.
Premise: one cannot be a moral agent without desiring to conform to a principle

These are both necessary conditions.

"Desiring to conform to a principle" is necessary to be a "moral agent"
Therefore, "Free will" is necessary to be a moral agent.

Why would one say that? Only if he thinks that "free will" is necessary for "desiring to conform to a principle".

Alternatively, think in terms of variables.

Say, you know that A is needed for B. So you conclude that C is needed for B. Why? Perhaps because you know that C is needed for A.

This is given in option (B) (Free will is required for desiring to conform to a principle)

deveshj21 · Answer

Dear Expert,
Although i had chosen the correct answer, i struggled with the structure,specifically what role does the first part of the sentnce plays and therefore was not able to come up with a proper assumption. All i could think was that there is some relationship between "free will" and "desire to confirm to a principle".

Divijakanneganty · Answer

Context: Consequences & motives decide Moral worth.
Reason: One cannot be a moral agent w/o desiring to conforming to principles.
Conclusion: If one has to do a morally right thing one must have free will. 
So, the assumption would be something that links morality, free will, and desire to conform to principle.

(A)  one cannot be a moral agent if one lacks a concern for the consequences of actions
 This option doesn't talk about free will & Desire to stick to principle

(B)  desiring to conform to a principle requires free will
 True

(C)  nobody who acts without taking the consequences of the action into consideration is free
 Irrelevant

(D)  it is impossible to have desires without also being a moral agent
 Doesn't talk about moral agent, who is the main focus of our discussion

(E)  it is impossible to perform morally worthy actions without at some time conforming to a principle
 Doesn't bring free will into the equation

VerbalBot · Answer

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Philosopher: Both the consequences and the motives of human actions ha

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