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nightblade354
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22 Jun 2018, 07:25
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E
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
95%
(hard)
Question Stats:
40% (01:59) correct
60%
(02:08)
wrong
based on 297
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It is the central tenet of the ethical theory of the German Idealist thinker Immanuel Kant that a person must not be treated as a means to an end but as an end only unique unto herself or himself. Therefore, it is wrong to use animals for food or clothing, for in doing so, we reduce them to mere instrumentalities and fail to consider their uniqueness.
Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the speaker's use of Kant's ethical doctrine?
A) Kant never considered the possibility that animals might be deserving of ethical treatment
B) The use of animals for food and clothing is offensive to many people who themselves consider animals ends and not means
C) Kant implies that rehabilitation is not a legitimate objective of the penal system because it treats the criminal as an end
D) In nature, every animal is a potential source of nourishment for other animals below it on the food chain
E) Kant's conclusion about treating humans as ends rests upon the assumption that humans have the ability for rational thought
Source: CR Archive
Which of the following, if true, is the best criticism of the speaker's use of Kant's ethical doctrine?
A) Kant never considered the possibility that animals might be deserving of ethical treatment
B) The use of animals for food and clothing is offensive to many people who themselves consider animals ends and not means
C) Kant implies that rehabilitation is not a legitimate objective of the penal system because it treats the criminal as an end
D) In nature, every animal is a potential source of nourishment for other animals below it on the food chain
E) Kant's conclusion about treating humans as ends rests upon the assumption that humans have the ability for rational thought
Source: CR Archive
22 Jun 2018, 08:41
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The answer is E.
We can find the answer using the
The argument takes a claim Kant made about humans and extrapolates it to animals. Therefore, since our goal is to weaken the claim, we will look for a fundamental difference between humans and animals that makes this extrapolation illegitimate. This is exactly what (E) gives us: Kant's conclusion about treating humans as ends rests upon the assumption that humans have the ability for rational thought
- if this is the criteria upon which Kant's claim rests, it does not apply to animals (which are not capable of rational thought).
We can find the answer using the
Logical
approach, since this question is about figuring out the premises for the argument given.The argument takes a claim Kant made about humans and extrapolates it to animals. Therefore, since our goal is to weaken the claim, we will look for a fundamental difference between humans and animals that makes this extrapolation illegitimate. This is exactly what (E) gives us: Kant's conclusion about treating humans as ends rests upon the assumption that humans have the ability for rational thought
- if this is the criteria upon which Kant's claim rests, it does not apply to animals (which are not capable of rational thought).
GittinGud
Joined: 18 Feb 2018
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Schools: Ross '22 (A) Johnson '22 (A$) Anderson '22 (A$) Marshall '22 (A) Kenan-Flagler '22 (A$) Mendoza '22 (A$)
GMAT 1: 750 Q50 V41
Schools: Ross '22 (A) Johnson '22 (A$) Anderson '22 (A$) Marshall '22 (A) Kenan-Flagler '22 (A$) Mendoza '22 (A$)
GMAT 1: 750 Q50 V41
Posts: 89
Kudos:
35
06 Jun 2019, 03:00
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DavidTutorexamPAL
How do we know for sure that animals are not capable of rational thought.
