Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardBridging Gap (Supporter) Assumptions

Philosopher: An individual can be held morally blameworthy for an outcome only if the actions leading to that outcome were the product of conscious deliberation. Neurological studies demonstrate that the physical movements involved in routine driving are initiated by the brain milliseconds before the driver becomes consciously aware of the intention to perform them. Therefore, drivers cannot be held morally blameworthy for traffic accidents caused by their physical movements during routine driving.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the philosopher's argument depends?

  1. Physical movements initiated before an individual is consciously aware of the intention to perform them are not the product of conscious deliberation.Answer
  2. B
    If the actions leading to a specific outcome were the product of conscious deliberation, the individual who performed those actions is morally blameworthy for that outcome.
  3. C
    Neurological studies are capable of accurately determining the exact moment when conscious deliberation about a physical movement occurs.
  4. D
    No human actions whatsoever are the product of conscious deliberation.
  5. E
    During routine driving, individuals are actually consciously aware of their intention to perform physical movements before the brain's motor cortex initiates those movements.

Answer

The assumption on which the argument depends is that physical movements initiated before an individual is consciously aware of the intention to perform them are not the product of conscious deliberation.
The argument concludes that drivers are not morally blameworthy for routine driving accidents because those physical movements are initiated before conscious awareness. Since the stated requirement for blameworthiness is that actions must be the product of 'conscious deliberation', the argument logically requires a bridge stating that movements initiated prior to conscious awareness do not involve conscious deliberation. The correct option perfectly provides this bridge.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core structure of the argument and identify the main conclusion.
The conclusion is that drivers cannot be held morally blameworthy for accidents caused by physical movements during routine driving.
Understanding the exact scope of the conclusion is the first step in identifying missing links.
2
Identify the premises supporting this conclusion.
Premise 1 establishes a necessary condition: moral blameworthiness requires actions to be the product of conscious deliberation. Premise 2 states a fact: routine driving movements are initiated before the driver is consciously aware of the intention to perform them.
Breaking down the evidence reveals the specific concepts the author is attempting to connect.
3
Spot the conceptual gap between the premises and the conclusion.
The argument jumps from movements being 'initiated before conscious awareness' (Premise 2) to concluding they lack the 'conscious deliberation' required for blameworthiness (Premise 1).
A Supporter Assumption must directly bridge new terminology in the premise to new terminology in the conclusion.
4
Apply the Negation Test to verify the required assumption.
Negating the correct statement yields: 'Movements initiated before conscious awareness ARE the product of conscious deliberation.' If true, the fact that routine driving movements occur this way no longer disqualifies them from moral blameworthiness, destroying the conclusion.
The Negation Test definitively proves whether an assumption is logically necessary for the argument to survive.

Key Concept

Identifying missing links between premises and conclusions in formal logic arguments.
Rate this question

Topics

Bridging Gap (Supporter) Assumptions

More questions from this topic