Boiled down to A and B. I'd go with A.

Second, I don't waste my time with this type of questions, if I were you.


Principles, justifying using principles, are part of normative ethical reasoning, which is taught in law schools.

gmatmachoman wrote:Walter: Although cigarette smoking is legal, it should be banned on all airline flights. Cigarette smoking in the confines of an aircraft exposes nonsmokers to harmful secondhand smoke that they cannot avoid.
Which one the following principles, if established, would justify the proposal put forth by Walter?
(A) People should be prohibited from engaging in an otherwise legal activity would unavoidable expose others to harm.
(B) An activity should be banned only if most situations in which a person engaged in that activity would inevitably expose others to harm.
(C) A legal activity that has the potential for causing harm to others in certain situations should be modified in those situations to render it harmless.
(D) People who regularly engage in an activity that has the potential for harming others when that activity takes place in certain situations should be excluded from those situations.
(E) If an activity is legal in some situations in which a person's engaging in that activity could harm others, then that activity should be legal in all situations

Very good question. But, I'm afraid if these 'justify' will appear in GMAT. Anyways..IMO ans is A.

B: talks about frequency i.e., MOST SITUATIONS. Implies if MOST OF the times people smoke in an arcraft it would cause harm to others. Passive smoking may not be measured of its intensity with number of times or number of people smoking in airrcaft.

C: CERTAIN SITUATIONS and MODIFY. modify does not exactly convey the meaning that smoking should be avoided in aircrafts. May be they will modify from normal cigarettes to electronic cigarettes that releases less smoke. Not sure if thid can justify.

D: Here the emphasis was laid on people who smoke. It says the people should be banned from those situations. Not talking about "smoking should be banned". No where it's mentioned that passenger has to be detained from the aircraft

E: Talks about Legality issues of smoking. Also says that smoking in aircrafts and everywhere else has to be legalized if it is legalized in some places. It is not justifying Walter's proposal.

A: Observe ENGAGING. It's not said that the people who smoke have to be banned, but people SHOULD be prohibited from engaging such activities. My choice!