Ethical living is based on A. our own virtuous attributes B. our behaviour…

Concept

A comprehension item that asks what a concept "is based on" is settled by textual warrant, not by general opinion about the concept. A listed element belongs in the answer only when the passage itself asserts it as part of what the concept covers; an element the passage never asserts in that role stays out, however plausible it may sound in ordinary usage.

Application

The passage defines ethics in two moves. It first fixes the field of ethical living — "How do we treat one another individually and in groups—and increasingly, other species and the environment?" — and then names the components: "Those moral norms and codes, in addition to a set of virtuous character traits, are what we mean when we talk about ethics." Each listed statement is tested against those sentences.

• Statement A, our own virtuous attributes: asserted. The passage writes "a set of virtuous character traits" into its own definition of ethics, and later names integrity, honesty, faithfulness and compassion as traits that play out in everyday living.

• Statement B, our behaviour towards other species: asserted. The passage extends the interpersonal dimension to "other species" and speaks of developing codes and norms for "our interaction with animals".

• Statement C, our behaviour towards environment: asserted. The phrase "and increasingly, other species and the environment" places the environment inside the same field of ethical conduct.

• Statement D, material satisfaction: not asserted. The passage builds ethics from relationships, from moral norms and codes, and from virtuous character traits, and nowhere makes material gain or satisfaction a basis of ethical living.

The passage therefore supports the first three statements together: ethical living is based on our own virtuous attributes, our behaviour towards other species and our behaviour towards the environment.

Cross-check

• A set limited to conduct towards other species and the environment drops the virtuous character traits that the passage puts into its definition of ethics alongside moral norms and codes.

• A set limited to virtuous attributes and conduct towards other species drops the environment, which the passage names in the same breath as other species.

• A set that also takes in material satisfaction imports a basis the passage never states; its closing paragraph turns inward to consciousness and moral leadership, not to material gain.