Every action has consequences and among the consequences of any action

Question

Every action has consequences and among the consequences of any action are other actions. And knowing whether an action is good requires knowing whether its consequences are good, but we cannot know the future, so good actions are impossible.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Some actions have only other actions as consequences.

(B) We can know that past actions were good.

(C) To know that an action is good requires knowing that refraining from performing it is bad.

(D) Only actions can be the consequences of other actions.

(E) For an action to be good we must be able to know that it is good.

GDT · Answer

Every action has consequences and among the consequences of any action are other actions. And knowing whether an action is good requires knowing whether its consequences are good, but we cannot know the future, so good actions are impossible.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Concl: good actions impossible
Premise:we can't know beforehand if an action will have a good consequence

assumption: on negation E says "for an action to be good, it is not must that we are able to know if it is good" This means whether we know if the action is good doesn't matter in adjudging it as good. So, it directly negates our line of thinking

(A) Some actions have only other actions as consequences.

(B) We can know that past actions were good.

(C) To know that an action is good requires knowing that refraining from performing it is bad.

(D) Only actions can be the consequences of other actions.

(E) For an action to be good we must be able to know that it is good.  Correct

SafSin28 · Answer

Question stem: Assumption
First sentence: Every action--->Consequence--->some other actions.
Second sentence: To know Good action---> to know good consequences, but We don't know the future (main premises), SO Good actions=impossible (conclusion)

Pre-thinking: "Every action--->Consequence--->some other actions". This guy is a cyclic condition and repeats itself limitlessly. So, We don't know its exact consequence. If we show that another way for knowing good action is impossible, the argument holds. Another way to know good action is to know it is good. But it is impossible as the argument says "Knowing good consequences reveals good actions". The answer is E.

Answer choices B and C are out for new irrelevant information.

(B) We can know that past actions were good.---> 'past actions were good' is new and Irrelevant. So OUT.

(C) To know that an action is good requires knowing that refraining from performing it is bad.---> "refraining from performing it is bad" is an extra new information. So, OUT.

(A) Some actions have only other actions as consequences. --> But what about other actions? 0<some<100% , some=1%, 2%, 3%, ..., 99%. So, Actions (100%)= some actions (from 1% to 99%)+the rest actions (100%-some).
Even if we evaluate some actions, we can't do anything to evaluate the rest actions. So, this guy is OUT.

(D) Only actions can be the consequences of other actions.-->This guy says, consequences=actions. But the argument says, Every action has consequences and among the consequences of any action are other actions. (consequences=some consequences in which no action stays+other consequences in which other actions stays)
(E) For an action to be good we must be able to know that it is good. -->This is valid

SudhanshuC · Answer

Answer E

Premise   (2nd line) = Since, we can’t know the future - So, we can’t know the consequence of an action - So, we can’t know whether an action is good or not good.

Conclusion   = Good actions are impossible.

So, our inability to know if an action is good or not makes the action impossible   = This is what the  underlying assumption  is which connects the premise to the conclusion.

Hence,   option-E   is the correct answer.

A_Nishith · Answer

Breakdown of the Argument: 
 Premise 1:  Every action has consequences, and among the consequences are other actions.
 Premise 2:  To know if an action is good, we need to know whether its consequences are good.
 Premise 3:  We cannot know the future.
 Conclusion:  Therefore, it is impossible to know if an action is good, making good actions impossible.
For this conclusion to hold, the argument assumes that knowing an action is good requires actually knowing it in advance, not just having beliefs or predictions about it.

Evaluation of the Options:
(A) Some actions have only other actions as consequences.

Irrelevant. The argument does not depend on whether only other actions are consequences. The focus is on whether consequences can be known, not their nature.

(B) We can know that past actions were good.

This is irrelevant because the argument does not address past actions. It deals with the impossibility of knowing if current or future actions are good.

(C) To know that an action is good requires knowing that refraining from performing it is bad.

This introduces a new condition (evaluating inaction) that is not discussed in the argument. The argument only concerns the consequences of an action, not its alternatives.

(D) Only actions can be the consequences of other actions.

This is irrelevant. The argument does not depend on the type of consequences (actions vs. non-actions). It focuses on whether we can know the outcomes.

(E) For an action to be good we must be able to know that it is good.

Correct. This directly connects to the argument's assumption. The argument hinges on the idea that if we cannot know the goodness of an action due to uncertainty about its consequences, good actions are impossible. This statement reflects the assumption that for an action to be considered "good," we must have knowledge (not just beliefs or predictions) of its goodness.
 Correct Answer: (E)

einstein801 · Answer

What is wrong with A (negated): No action has only other consequences as actions - this breaksdown the argument as an action is limited to itself (and no other consequences/actions)

VerbalBot · Answer

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Every action has consequences and among the consequences of any action

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