PrepTest 103, Section 2, Question 25
Monica: The sculpture commissioned for our town plaza(113 more words not shown)
The argument Hector makes in(8 more words not shown)
- Ano matter what(29 more words not shown)
- BMonica's assessment of(8 more words not shown)
- Cif the sculpture(19 more words not shown)
- Dworks of art(13 more words not shown)
- Eif the public(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Even if an art critic values the sculpture, the people passing it every day might wish it were gone.
That is why Hector's response initially feels reasonable to me. Monica dismisses the public's dislike as uninformative about artistic merit. Hector instead asks what a work commissioned for a public space should do for the people there. He says it ought to benefit them, then uses public opinion to decide whether it should remain.
The necessary-assumption question makes me slow down. My first thought is whether Monica accurately reports the public's opinion. I also wonder whether another consideration could outweigh the dislike.
Imagine a donor who supports important town services and threatens to stop giving if the sculpture comes down. That could be a reason to keep an unpopular work. We aren't told there is such a donor; the example simply shows why I wouldn't move automatically from public opposition to removal.
What we’re looking for
So I'd initially be looking for something addressing that possible reason to leave it up. Let's test the choices against what Hector actually says, including the limits he places on his conclusion.
Working the answers
- A
This covers every issue affecting the public good, regardless of how informed the public is. Hector's argument concerns this sculpture in a public plaza. He could think public preferences should govern this decision while rejecting that rule for a technical decision about, say, water treatment. A demands a much broader commitment than his reasoning requires.
- B
This fits my initial thought about checking Monica's report, but the conclusion is conditional: if public opinion is what she says, the sculpture should be removed. Hector doesn't have to assume that she reported it correctly to defend that conditional claim. If her report is wrong, the stated condition simply isn't met.
- C
Hector allows that Monica may be right about the public's dislike saying nothing about artistic merit. He doesn't need to assume people would always appreciate artistically valuable work. An uninformed public could scorn something with merit, and he could still defend his argument about how to respond to their opinion.
- D
Hector doesn't say public art should be expected to lack artistic merit. He could hope for excellent art that also benefits people. His response argues that the public's view matters to the decision; it doesn't require giving up artistic quality as an expectation.
- ECorrect
This identifies a different gap from my donor concern. Hector starts with what public art ought to do—benefit the public—but then uses what the public feels is beneficial. Those aren't automatically the same.
People might fail to recognize a benefit they receive. If that were happening here, their belief that the sculpture doesn't benefit them would not establish a failure to provide benefit. Hector's reasoning needs the connection E supplies: their perceived lack of benefit must show an actual lack of benefit. Otherwise the public-opinion evidence doesn't establish the particular failure he uses to support removal.
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