Read the following passage carefully and answer the question given below it. Morality is often conceived as a system of determinate prescriptions, offering clarity through the delineation of right and wrong. Yet such determinacy is frequently illusory, for moral life unfolds in contexts where principles intersect, conflict, and resist straightforward application. Under such conditions, morality cannot be reduced to the execution of rules; it instead demands the capacity to adjudicate among competing claims without relinquishing coherence. The moral agent must therefore navigate between generality and specificity, ensuring that universal commitments are neither abandoned nor applied without regard for contextual nuance. This navigation introduces a fundamental tension: morality seeks consistency in judgment, yet cannot dispense with situational responsiveness. Rigid adherence to principle risks producing outcomes that contravene the very values those principles intend to secure, while excessive flexibility risks dissolving morality into relativism. The resolution of this tension lies not in privileging one pole over the other, but in sustaining a form of reasoning that remains accountable to both. Thus, morality emerges not as a static code but as an ongoing practice of justification, requiring individuals to render their actions intelligible in light of both principle and circumstance.
How does a moral agent respond to conflicting principles, according to the passage?
By evaluating competing claims through context-sensitive and reasoned deliberation
The answer must restate what the passage says the moral agent does when principles conflict.
Step 1 — The passage says morality “demands the capacity to adjudicate among competing claims without relinquishing coherence”.
Step 2 — It adds that the agent “must therefore navigate between generality and specificity, ensuring that universal commitments are neither abandoned nor applied without regard for contextual nuance”, and that morality is “an ongoing practice of justification”.
Step 3 — Adjudicating competing claims, with regard for context and through justification, is the same as evaluating them by context-sensitive, reasoned deliberation.
Applying norms without accommodating situational differences is the “rigid adherence to principle” the passage warns against. Prioritising universal principles while minimising context contradicts the demand that commitments not be applied “without regard for contextual nuance”. Maximising desirable outcomes is an outcome-based ethic the passage never proposes.
By evaluating competing claims through context-sensitive and reasoned deliberation option is correct.
Similar Questions
Read the following statements carefully and choose the most appropriate option.
Assertion (A): Moral judgment must remain coherent even when principles conflict in complex situations.
Reason (R): Moral reasoning requires evaluating competing principles beyond mere reliance on fixed rules.
Read the following statements carefully and choose the most appropriate option from those given below.
Assertion (A): Constant comparison weakens an individual’s sense of self-worth.
Reason (R): External benchmarks make individuals dependent on validation from others.How does the passage suggest individuals can achieve sustainable fulfillment?
Two statements labelled Assertion (A) and Reason (R) are given below. Read the statements carefully and select the correct option.
Assertion (A):
Confidence, as described in the passage, is compatible with the presence of doubt rather than dependent on its elimination.
Reason (R):
Confidence is presented as a regulated form of self-judgment that enables action even when certainty is incomplete.
Why does the passage describe externally driven achievement as “fragile”?
Why does the passage argue that morality cannot be reduced to the execution of fixed rules?
How do confidence and determination function together within the framework outlined in the passage?
Why does the passage reject the idea that confidence and determination inherently guarantee success?
Important Questions from Reading Comprehension
What is the meaning of ‘intrigued’?
What are ice shelves?
What are icebergs?
When the iceberg turns upside down, it appears ________.
The use of science in its simple form has helped man to ____________
