Critical Reasoning

Many psychologists recommend that people cultivate self-esteem instead of criticizing themselves for their shortcomings. But this is clearly a bad principle if the goal is a society whose citizens are genuinely happy, for no one can be genuinely happy if he or she is not pursuing personal excellence by seeking to improve himself or herself.

Which of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

(A) Those who are willing to change will probably find genuine happiness.

(B) People who do not criticize themselves are less likely than others to pursue personal excellence.

(C) Personal excellence cannot be acquired by those who lack genuine confidence in their own abilities.

(D) People are justified in feeling content with themselves when they have achieved some degree of personal excellence.

(E) Happiness is not genuine unless it is based on something that is painful to obtain.

Hi TheGraduate,

Let's start by breaking the stimulus into premises and conclusion:

Premise 1: People should cultivate self-esteem instead of criticizing themselves
Premise 2: Goal -> Society with citizens who are genuinely happy
Premise 3: No one can be genuinely happy if they are not pursuing personal excellence by seeking to improve themselves

Conclusion: Premise 1 is a bad principle if the goal is premise 2

Criticism -> Pursuit of personal excellence -> Genuine happiness

Now, let's move on to the assumptions:

A. This is an assumption stated in the 2nd Premise already, so it is nothing new. INCORRECT
B. The stimulus is basically saying that citizens cannot be genuinely happy if they are not pursuing personal excellence. Additionally, self esteem instead of criticism is not going to lead to genuine happiness = personal excellence. In essence criticism leads to looking out for personal excellence which is what is covered in this option. CORRECT.
C. This weakens the conclusion as it believes lack of confidence does not lead to personal excellence. So, self-esteem should ideally lead to personal excellence and genuinely happy citizens. INCORRECT
D. Irrelevant as the stimulus does not talk about the feeling of contentment or its relation to personal excellence. INCORRECT
E. The stimulus does not mention about things achieved with pain or the definition of achievements required for genuine happiness. INCORRECT

So, the answer is B.