PrepTest 118, Section 4, Question 10
The enthusiastic acceptance of ascetic lifestyles evidenced in(22 more words not shown)
The reasoning in the argument(11 more words not shown)
- Aemploys the imprecise(2 more words not shown)
- Bgeneralizes from a(7 more words not shown)
- Capplies contemporary standards(4 more words not shown)
- Dinserts personal opinions(8 more words not shown)
- Eadvances premises that(2 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Monastic writers aren't a cross-section of medieval society. They're people connected with monasteries, and their enthusiasm for an ascetic life may be exactly what sets them apart.
“Ascetic” means practicing self-discipline and giving up indulgences. So I can see why the author reads those writings as evidence of a group that places less importance on wealth. But how do we get from that group to medieval societies as a whole?
Imagine visiting a wealthy modern city and studying a small religious community there whose members reject material luxuries. Their attitudes wouldn't establish that the entire city is unconcerned with money. We would have deliberately looked at people whose way of life might be unusual. The same concern applies to the monastic writers.
What we’re looking for
The flaw question should point to that jump: a narrow, potentially unrepresentative group is being used to characterize a much larger society. We can accept what the writers say without accepting that everyone around them shared the same priorities.
Working the answers
- A
Not recognizing a word isn't a flaw in the argument. “Ascetic” describes a disciplined life that avoids indulgence. Even with that meaning clear, we still need to know whether the writers represent medieval society. Defining the word doesn't fix the sampling problem.
- BCorrect
The evidence comes from surviving writings by monastic authors, a group whose religious way of life may make its attitudes toward wealth different from those of other people. The conclusion describes medieval societies generally. The argument hasn't shown that the sample supports that broader comparison with contemporary Western cultures.
- C
Comparing two periods doesn't automatically apply an inappropriate modern standard to the earlier one. The author isn't judging medieval society as morally good or bad by today's expectations; the claim concerns how much people valued monetary gain. The problem is who supplies the evidence for that claim.
- D
The argument uses the writers' attitudes as historical evidence. It doesn't establish a dispute in which the author simply substitutes a personal preference for a fact. Even if we accept the reported attitudes as factual, the move from monastic writers to society remains unsupported.
- E
Inconsistent premises would conflict with each other, like saying Pluto is a planet and also saying Pluto is not a planet in the same sense. Nothing here creates that sort of conflict. The evidence could be entirely accurate while still coming from a group that doesn't represent the wider society.
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