PrepTest 131

Incorrect. Colin's intended goal was to help his friends, but they ended up getting punished, so Colin's action didn't achieve his intended goal. It doesn't meet the first half of the sufficient condition of the principle.

Incorrect. This answer concludes that Derek's action wasn't morally good, which can't be justified by the principle in the stimulus.

Incorrect. While there was a benefit to others of Ellen's action, it didn't achieve her intended goal of getting a promotion, so it doesn't meet the first half of the sufficient condition of the principle.

Incorrect. This answer concludes that Louisa's action wasn't morally good, which can't be justified by the principle in the stimulus.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
Achieves person's intended goal AND Benefits someone else → Morally good

Answer Anticipation:
Must Be True (Principle) questions present us with a conditional principle (usually two, actually, but we only got one here), and then it asks us to find an answer choice that establishes a scenario that meets the sufficient condition and concludes the necessary condition. As such, we want to make sure the conditional is set up so that details that would be described in a scenario are the sufficient condition, and the judgment is in the necessary condition.

That's already the case here—it's likely the answers will describe an action and conclude the morality of it—so there's no additional work that needs to be done. However, a few things to note before analyzing the answers.

First, the principle establishes a sufficient condition only for an action to be judged morally good. Any answer that concludes an action isn't morally good/is morally bad will be wrong. If you're wondering why taking the contrapositive wouldn't justify such an answer, it's because then the action not being morally good is a sufficient condition, and we can't conclude sufficient conditions based on necessary conditions; we have to conclude necessary conditions based on sufficient ones being met.

Second, the sufficient condition here is an AND statement, so the answer will have to establish that both elements are present.

Answer Explanation:
Achieved the intended goal? She wanted her children to enjoy their vacation, and they did—check. Benefit someone else? Her children and their grandfather enjoyed the visit—check. Conclusion that the action was morally good? Check. This answer establishes the sufficient conditions and concludes the necessary condition, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
For Must Be True (Principle) questions, the only conclusions that can be justified are ones that match the necessary condition of the principle. This is because only necessary conditions can be guaranteed (by the presence of the sufficient condition). Knowing this, and spending a few seconds to identify what conclusions can be validly drawn based on the principle in the stimulus, is key to making some quick eliminations in this question type.