Critical Reasoning

Every moral theory developed in the Western tradition purports to tell us what a good life is. However, most people would judge someone who perfectly embodied the ideals of any one of these theories not to be living a good life-the kind of life they would want for themselves and their children. The statements above, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?


(A) Most people desire a life for themselves and
their children that is better than a merely
good life.


(B) A person who fits the ideals of one moral theory
in the Western tradition would not
necessarily fit the ideals of another.


(C) Most people have a conception of a good life
that does not match that of any moral theory
in the Western tradition.


(D) A good life as described by moral theories in
the Western tradition cannot be realized.


(E) It is impossible to develop a theory that
accurately describes what a good life is.


Can anyone please explain this CR question with focus on options B & C.

(A) Most people desire a life for themselves and
their children that is better than a merely
good life.

What the prompt says is not that people desire a life better than a good life but that a good life as outlined in certain theories is not the kind of life they desire.

(B) A person who fits the ideals of one moral theory
in the Western tradition would not
necessarily fit the ideals of another.

The prompt does not say that people prefer one theory to another, and it does not say that the theories are different from each other. So the prompt does not support the conclusion that the ideals of the theories differ from each other or that someone who fits the ideals of one would not fit the ideals of another.

This answer is a classic trap that gets you by saying something that the test taker is likely to be thinking while it is not actually said by the prompt.

(C) Most people have a conception of a good life
that does not match that of any moral theory
in the Western tradition.

This is supported by the prompt when it says "most people would judge someone who perfectly embodied the ideals of any one of these theories not to be living a good life". If most people would feel that a person living one of those lives outlined by the moral theories to not be living a good life, then their conceptions of good lives must not match those of the moral theories.

(D) A good life as described by moral theories in
the Western tradition cannot be realized.

There is in the prompt nothing that supports this.

(E) It is impossible to develop a theory that
accurately describes what a good life is.

While this may seem to be true given what is said in the prompt, it is not actually supported by what is said in the prompt.


So the correct answer is C.