People can not be Morally Responsible for Things Over Which They Have No Control

Question: People can not be morally responsible for things over which they have no control. Therefore, they should not be held morally responsible for any inevitable consequences of such things, either. Determining whether adults have any control over the treatment they are receiving is difficult. Hence, in some cases, it can be difficult to know whether adults bear any moral responsibility for the way they are treated. Everyone, however, sometimes acts in ways that are an inevitable consequence if treatment received as an infant and infants clearly cannot control, and so are not morally responsible for, the treatment they receive.

Anyone making the claims above would be logically committed to which one of the following further claims?

(A) An infant should never be held morally responsible for an action that infant has performed.
(B) There are certain commonly performed actions for which no one performing those actions should ever be held morally responsible.
(C) Adults who claim that they have no control over the treatment they are receiving should often be held at least partially responsible for being so treated.
(D) If a given action is within a certain person’s control that person should be held morally
(E) No adult should be held morally responsible for every action he or she performs.

“People can not be Morally Responsible for Things Over Which They Have No Control” – this is a GMAT Critical question. This particular GMAT Critical Reasoning topic has been taken from the book ‘501 GMAT Questions’. In this particular topic, candidates need to choose the option that best suits the passage. GMAT critical reasoning tests the logical and analytical skills of the candidates. Critical reasoning in GMAT requires candidates to find the strengths and weaknesses of the argument, or find the logical flaw in the argument.  The GMAT CR section contains 10 -13 GMAT critical reasoning questions out of 36 GMAT verbal questions.

Answer: (E)

Explanation: This is a GMAT Critical Reasoning question. In the above passage, we have to look for the additional claims that a person will choose after making the claims in the passage.

Let’s go through all the options available and choose the one supporting the claims.

Option (A): An infant should never be held morally responsible for an action that infant has performed.

-Option A states that an infant should not be held responsible for something they did. But it is possible that infants may perform some actions that are not the consequences of the treatment that they are receiving. The argument related to responsibility does not apply in case of infants. So, Option A is incorrect.

Option (B): There are certain commonly performed actions for which no one performing those actions should ever be held morally responsible.

-According to Option B, there are some actions for which the person performing those actions should not be held responsible. Again, the statement talks about the actions that are not necessarily out of a person’s control. It is not supportive of the claim made in the above passage. So, Option B is incorrect.

Option (C): Adults who claim that they have no control over the treatment they are receiving should often be held at least partially responsible for being so treated.

-As mentioned in Option C, adults should be held partially responsible for the treatment they receive. The statement does not support the claim as it states that it is difficult to determine an adult's control over the treatment received. It does not clarify the actions that are not within control and if an adult should be held responsible for those actions or not. So, Option C is incorrect.

Option (D): If a given action is within a certain person’s control that person should be held morally.

-Option D states that the person should be held responsible when their actions are within their control. It merely talks about the responsibilities for the actions within control and nothing is mentioned about actions within control. So, Option D is incorrect.

Option (E): No adult should be held morally responsible for every action he or she performs.

-As per Option E, no adult can be held responsible for every single action that they perform. The action performed depends on the way they are treated. The passage claims that everyone is bound to act in the way he/she is being treated. There could be some actions that are not in the control of an individual and for those actions, adults should not be held responsible. So, the adults will sometimes do things for which they should not be held morally responsible. Option E is correct.

Suggested GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions

• Shelby Industries Manufactures and Sells the Same Gauges as Jones Industries.
• Unlike a Typical Automobile Loan, Which Requires a Fifteen- to Twenty-Percent Down Payment
• The Interview is an Essential Part of a Successful hiring Program
• James Weighs More Than Kelly. Luis Weighs More Than Mark
• Monthly Employee Evaluations are an Excellent Tool for Managers.
• In a Monogamous Culture, 100% of the Adults are Married.
• Tanco, A Leather Manufacturer, Uses Large Quantities of Common Salt to Preserve Animal Hides.
• Carol is Shorter Than Juan, But She is Taller than Ed. Sandra is Shorter than Juan, and She is Shorter than Ed
• Experienced Pilots often Have More Trouble than Novice Pilots in Learning to Fly
• A library Currently has only Coin-Operated Photocopy Machines, which Cost 10 cents Per Copy.
• Dear Applicant: Thank you for Your Application
• Discussion of Greenhouse Effects Have Usually Had as a Focus the Possibility of Earth Growing Warmer
• Engineers are Investigating the Suitability of Wantastiquet Pass as the Site of a New Bridge
• Josh has Twenty Years of Typing Experience Behind Him
• In their Search for Mayan Ruins in the Jungles of Guatemala Archaeologist
• Art Historian Recently Computer Analysis has Revealed that a Few of a Famous Flemish Artists
• In Three Separate Studies Researchers Compared Children who had Slept with Nightlights
• Until Recently it was Thought that Ink used Before the Sixteenth Century did not Contain
• Polling Data Reveal that an Overwhelming Majority of 9 year Olds can Correctly Identify
• It is Illogical to Infer a Second and Different Effect from a Cause which is known only