Which choice most logically completes the text?

Question

Accepted Answer

Choice A is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion about Aztec (Nahua) ethics. The text indicates that, according to Purcell’s interpretation of available Aztec philosophical works, the Aztec ethical system views an individual’s actions in relation to that individual’s societal role and how the actions affect the community. The text contrasts this view with another held by some ethicists, namely that actions are morally good or bad regardless of the context in which they occur. Thus, Purcell’s analysis suggests that the Aztecs would have asserted that the morality of an individual’s actions are rooted in that person’s position in the community and the actions’ effects and therefore cannot be determined in the absence of that context. Choice B is incorrect. Although the text indicates that morally judging an action according to Aztec ethics requires an understanding of the action’s effects and the individual’s social circumstances, it does not specify that only members of that society can acquire this information. Choice C is incorrect because it implies that the Aztecs considered some actions good or bad regardless of the surrounding context, which contradicts the text’s claim that the Aztecs believed that the morality of an individual’s action is dependent on the action’s effects on the community and the person’s specific circumstances. Choice D is incorrect. Although the text indicates that in Aztec ethics the morality of an action depends in part on how it affects the community, this is only one of the two factors—the other being the person’s societal role—that need to be considered. Therefore, it is possible that two actions with the same effect on the community could be considered morally distinct if they are performed by individuals in different social roles.

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