Philosopher: It is absurd to argue that people are morally obligated to act in a certain way simply because not acti...

shunhe on January 27, 2020

Hi @Shiyi-Zhang,

Thanks for the question! The question is asking us for a technique that the philosopher’s argument uses. Take a look at the first sentence, where the philosopher introduces the concept of “unnatural” actions. Then, the second sentence clarifies for us what exactly an unnatural action is, as having clear definitions can occasionally help prevent linguistic confusions when using terms that could be understood differently by different parties. This is what (B) tells us, and so (B) is correct. (D) is incorrect because there is no showing that any claim is self-contradictory. The author does undermine a claim (people are morally obligated to act in a certain way), but doesn’t do so through exposing a self-contradiction. Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.