PrepTest 146, Section 1, Question 8
Philosopher: It has been argued that because particular(67 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(5 more words not shown)
- Amoral codes tend(11 more words not shown)
- Bthe moral codes(9 more words not shown)
- Ca variety of(9 more words not shown)
- Dit is possible(11 more words not shown)
- Emoral attitudes can(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Different moral codes don't have to come from completely different foundations. Cultures could disagree about particular rules while sharing basic objections to cruelty or unfairness. The philosopher uses that possibility to challenge the idea that morality must be entirely cultural.
The shared attitudes don't, by themselves, prove a biological origin. People could inherit an attitude from a shared cultural past. But we don't need to settle that debate to finish this argument. Look at the comparison the philosopher actually makes: a shared liking for sweetness and saltiness can help produce many different cuisines. Different dishes can come from the same basic tastes.
What we’re looking for
For the sentence completion, carry that comparison over to morality. Shared basic attitudes could help produce different moral codes. The variety of the finished products doesn't establish that they have no common starting point.
Working the answers
- A
This emphasizes the particular context of each moral code. The philosopher has acknowledged that cultures differ; the comparison adds that different results can still rest on something shared. A leaves out that common foundation.
- B
The analogy doesn't require most cuisines to resemble one another in many ways. They can be very different while drawing on a few shared tastes. Likewise, the philosopher needn't conclude that most moral codes share many features. The point is that different codes can arise from common attitudes.
- CCorrect
This completes the comparison: shared tastes can underlie a variety of cuisines, and shared moral attitudes can underlie a variety of moral codes. The same basic dislike of unfairness or cruelty could be expressed differently in different cultures. That challenges the claim that differences in the codes rule out a common foundation.
- D
Understanding the basis of a code is a different subject. The analogy concerns how varied codes can arise from shared attitudes, not whether an observer can understand those codes or trace their origins.
- E
This has the attitudes being adjusted to fit existing moral codes. The analogy works the other way around: the shared attitudes provide a basis from which different codes can develop. We aren't told that people change the underlying attitudes to suit whatever code a culture already has.
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