21. Ethicist: As a function of one's job and societal role, one has
various duties. There are situations where acting in
accord with one of these duties has disastrous
consequences, and thus the duties are not absolute.
However, it is a principle of morality that if one does
not have overwhelming evidence that fulfilling such a
duty will have disastrous consequences, one ought to
fulfill it.
Which one of the following most closely conforms to
the principle of morality cited by the ethicist?
(A) A teacher thinks that a certain student has received the
course grade merited by the quality of his work.
The teacher should fulfill her duty not to raise the
student's grade, even though the lower grade
might harm the student's chance of obtaining an
internship.
(B) A person should not fulfill his duty to tell his friend the
truth about the friend's new haircut, because lying
will make the friend happier than the truth would.
(C) A police investigator discovers that a contractor
has slightly overcharged wealthy customers in
order to lower rates for a charity. The
investigator should not fulfill his duty to report
the contractor provided that the contractor
stops the practice.
(D) A psychiatrist's patient tells her about his recurring
nightmares of having committed a terrible crime.
The psychiatrist should fulfill her duty to report
this to the authorities because the patient may have
broken the law, even though the psychiatrist also
has a duty of confidentiality to her patients.
(E) A journalist thinks there is a slight chance that a story
about a developing crisis will endanger innocent
lives. Therefore, the journalist should await further
developments before fulfilling his duty to file the
story.
Source: LSAT
various duties. There are situations where acting in
accord with one of these duties has disastrous
consequences, and thus the duties are not absolute.
However, it is a principle of morality that if one does
not have overwhelming evidence that fulfilling such a
duty will have disastrous consequences, one ought to
fulfill it.
Which one of the following most closely conforms to
the principle of morality cited by the ethicist?
(A) A teacher thinks that a certain student has received the
course grade merited by the quality of his work.
The teacher should fulfill her duty not to raise the
student's grade, even though the lower grade
might harm the student's chance of obtaining an
internship.
(B) A person should not fulfill his duty to tell his friend the
truth about the friend's new haircut, because lying
will make the friend happier than the truth would.
(C) A police investigator discovers that a contractor
has slightly overcharged wealthy customers in
order to lower rates for a charity. The
investigator should not fulfill his duty to report
the contractor provided that the contractor
stops the practice.
(D) A psychiatrist's patient tells her about his recurring
nightmares of having committed a terrible crime.
The psychiatrist should fulfill her duty to report
this to the authorities because the patient may have
broken the law, even though the psychiatrist also
has a duty of confidentiality to her patients.
(E) A journalist thinks there is a slight chance that a story
about a developing crisis will endanger innocent
lives. Therefore, the journalist should await further
developments before fulfilling his duty to file the
story.
Source: LSAT
Is caught between a rock and a hard place!
