Principle JustifyDiff: Medium

Logic Breakdown

Passage Summary: A doctor argues that psychologists shouldn't be allowed to give out medicine because they don't have the same years of intense medical schooling that real doctors do.

Conclusion: Clinical psychologists who lack medical degrees should be prohibited from prescribing psychiatric drugs.

Reasoning: Psychologists receive only a few hundred hours of training in relevant sciences, whereas medical doctors must undergo years of training before they are permitted to prescribe.

Analysis: The physician is making a value judgment based on a comparison of training hours. To make this argument logically sound, we need a principle that establishes a specific requirement for the right to prescribe. Look for an answer that connects the necessity of extensive training (like that of an MD) to the legal or ethical permission to provide medication. You are essentially looking for a rule that says 'if you don't have X amount of training, you shouldn't do Y.'

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10.

Which one of the following principles, if valid, would most help to justify the reasoning in the physician's argument?

Correct Answer
C
If no one without years of training in neuroscience, physiology, and pharmacology should be allowed to prescribe, then psychologists with only a few hundred hours do not qualify, which directly justifies the conclusion that they should not be allowed to prescribe.
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