Q18 - Etiquette helps people to get along

[KatieX725]

Is there a reason why C is correct as opposed to A?

To me, #18 turns on the beliefs of the people who criticize etiquette. On one hand, they believe that etiquette has no beneficial effects; on the other, they believe that social harmony is good. If we take the first statement as true, it means that etiquette advances social harmony. So, based on the people's beliefs, the two are mutually contradictory: etiquette has no social benefits vs. etiquette has the social benefit of harmony.

However, I don't see any grounds for seeing it as a given that harmony, and thus etiquette, is IN FACT socially beneficial, only that these people BELIEVE harmony to be beneficial. So, I think that there is only basis in the stim to say that the people's beliefs are contradictory, and no basis to say that the people's beliefs are mistaken (social harmony may actually not be beneficial, even if they think it is).

I think I've talked myself into circles here!! maybe some clarity on the distinction between "contradictory" and "mistaken" would be helpful?

thank you in advance!

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Inference (most supported)

Stimulus Breakdown:
CAUSAL: etiquette helps people get along with each other, in part by preventing us from accidentally offending each other.
DISTINCTION: people say etiquette has no beneficial effects, but think kindness and social harmony are good.

Answer Anticipation:
The answer will address the tension between the "people think etiquette has no social benefit" and "etiquette fosters kindness/social harmony, which are societal goods". Hard to say what direction they'll go with the wording of the correct answer, though. Perhaps something like "these many people are potentially in possession of conflicting beliefs"?

Correct Answer:
C

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) This looks a lot like my prediction. I have learned the hard way, though, to be extra-critical about liking (A) on Inference questions. There are a lot of purposefully-placed trap answers in (A) specifically on Inference questions. "Contradictory" is extreme, so can we back it up? A contradiction is like saying "Ketchup is red / ketchup is not red". Let's start by just asking ourselves, "What's ONE view we know many people have about etiquette?" We know they believe "etiquette has no beneficial effects". Do they also believe the contradiction, "etiquette has some beneficial effects"? No. WE know, from the other facts, ONE of which is also known by these people, that etiquette has some beneficial effects, so WE know that these people's view that "etiquette has no beneficial effects" is wrong. But that doesn't mean that THEY own a contradictory view. The 2nd view ascribed to these same people is that "kindness and social harmony are good". Is that view a "view about etiquette"? No, not at all. So we can't point to the two views ascribed to "Many people who criticize" and say that those are contradictory views about etiquette:
1. the two views do not contradict (contradict means "A is true / A is false")
2. Only one of them is even a view about etiquette.

(B) We never talk about whether these people have respect for etiquette. If we like this answer, we're illicitly assuming that these people have come to the same conclusion we have, that etiquette IS actually doing some good things.

(C) YES. I originally supported this by combining the ideas that "etiquette helps people to get along and to avoid offending others" and "kindness and social harmony are good", to derive that "etiquette produces some good". So many people who criticize etiquette by saying "etiquette has no beneficial effects" are mistaken. However, given that "kindness and social harmony are good" is presented as "what these people believe", not as a fact, we really shouldn't be using that claim to support the idea that many people are (factually) mistaken. This answer really leans only on the first two sentences in which we're factually told that "etiquette helps people to get along / avoid offending one another", which are commonsensically "beneficial effects on society".

(D) We have no idea what society would be like if people were more considerate. A counterfactual or future claim will almost always be wrong on Inference. It's hard to DERIVE a prediction or counterfactual from the facts in the stimulus. Facts tell us about the present and the past, not the future or the hypothetical (unless we're given timeless rules by which to judge events).

(E) It's a leap to go from "these people think kindness and social harmony are good" to "kindness and social harmony are good."

Takeaway/Pattern: Besides having a gnarly trap answer in (A), this problem also has a weird trap in (E) of differentiating between facts and beliefs. Remember, "many people are in cults". Just because many people believe something doesn't mean we treat it as fact. Remember that "contradiction" means "I believe X, but I also believe ~X." Someone who thinks "I know Clark Kent, personally" but "I don't know Superman, personally" does not believe contradictory things. The 2nd belief is mistaken, but not contradictory.

#officialexplanation

[SamT18]

So, is it correct to say that a "mistaken belief" is a belief that is inconsistent with reality? Is a mistaken belief the same thing as a false belief?

Ex. Mark believes that dogs can fly. Reality dictates that dogs cannot fly. Thus Mark has a false belief, which is also a mistaken belief.