Logical reasoning PrepTest 125 · Section 2 · Question 12

Incorrect. The stimulus never draws a conclusion as to which moral code is right. Since it doesn't cast judgment on scientific morality's ignoring of foreseeable consequences, we can't infer that scientists shouldn't be held accountable for them.

Incorrect. Very solid trap answer! This sounds right, as ordinary morality focuses on consequences, whereas scientific morality doesn't. However, the consequences that are discussed in the stimulus are foreseeable consequences, not every consequence. Since this answer doesn't discuss foreseeable consequences (and suggests that it's discussing non-foreseeable ones by using the phrase "turns out to"), this answer can't be inferred.

Incorrect. The Ethicist starts out by saying that science does have a traditional value system and that it's not morally neutral, so this answer is contradicted.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Science morality - Harm posed by research doesn't need to be considered when deciding to do it
Ordinary morality - Foreseeable consequences must be taken into account when deciding to take an action
Conclusion - Science has a value system

Answer Anticipation:
This Must Be True question, unlike most, features an argument. However, the conclusion of that argument isn't particularly interesting, and it builds directly from the description of scientific morality that is offered, so we should instead focus on the more relevant aspect of the argument—the implied comparison between scientific and ordinary morality.

Here, there is no specific comparison drawn in the stimulus, but it does go into what is true of both scientific morality and ordinary morality. Since information about both types of morality is discussed, but no direct comparison is stated, it's likely that the correct answer will be the implied comparison between the two. As such, we should see what we can say about scientific morality vs. ordinary morality.

Here, both descriptions focus on the foreseeable consequences of actions. For scientific morality, these consequences don't have to be considered; for ordinary morality, they do. In short, the two moral codes differ in how they view foreseeable consequences. The correct answer could be at that high level, or it could be more specific (e.g., describe a situation where the moral conclusions drawn would be different for the different moral codes). However, knowing that these two codes differ around foreseeable consequences should provide enough of a baseline for us to find the correct answer.

Answer Explanation:
This answer essentially says that the two moral codes discussed are different, which was the takeaway from the stimulus. Scientists can decide to pursue research that has harmful, foreseeable consequences and be on the right side of their own moral code but the wrong side of the ordinary moral code.

Key Takeaway:
When the stimulus of a Must Be True question provides enough information to draw a comparison between two things, the correct answer will often play off of that implied comparison.

Incorrect. The stimulus discusses how foreseeable consequences play into the morality of scientific morality and ordinary morality, suggesting that there are foreseeable consequences.