PrepTest 118, Section 4, Question 17
Art critic: Criticism focuses on two issues: first,(60 more words not shown)
The art critic's reasoning is(11 more words not shown)
- Ajudgments about the(10 more words not shown)
- Bpeople sometimes agree(8 more words not shown)
- Cjudgments about extrinsic(4 more words not shown)
- Djudgments about intrinsic(4 more words not shown)
- Ean artwork's value(5 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Is value that comes from outside an artwork necessarily just a matter of taste? Those ideas may be related, but they aren't automatically the same.
“Intrinsic” points to value belonging to the work itself. “Extrinsic” points to value coming from something outside the work. The second distinction concerns how we judge it: are we making an objective assessment, or only expressing personal taste? Where value comes from and whether a judgment is objective are two different questions.
The critic connects them by saying that if value isn't intrinsic, it must be extrinsic, and judgments must therefore be only matters of taste. That last move is where I pause. Even if taste is one possible source of extrinsic value, why must it be the only one? Could some feature outside the artwork also be assessed objectively?
What we’re looking for
The flaw question asks what the critic takes for granted. I'd look for the assumption that anything extrinsic rules out objective judgment. We don't have to give a complete theory of artistic value. We just need to notice that the critic hasn't established this connection between the two distinctions.
Working the answers
- A
The critic doesn't say that every judgment about every artwork is only a matter of taste. The claim is conditional: when the value is extrinsic, the judgment can only be a matter of taste. A removes that condition and turns a claim about one category into a claim about all artistic judgment.
- B
Two people could share a taste, or disagree about it, without resolving our question. We need to know whether extrinsic value excludes objective judgment. Agreement between people doesn't establish that connection and isn't something the argument relies on.
- CCorrect
This gives us the missing connection. The critic moves from extrinsic value to judgments that are only matters of taste, treating objective judgment as unavailable in that case. But that exclusion hasn't been established. If an extrinsic source of value could be judged objectively, the conclusion that the judgment can only reflect taste would fail.
The passage itself sets objective judgment against mere taste, so C's use of “objective” fits the discussion. It isn't introducing a new, unrelated standard.
- D
This concerns judgments about intrinsic value. The disputed move goes from extrinsic value to taste. We could refuse to say that every judgment of intrinsic value is objective and still ask whether the critic has justified the claim about extrinsic value. D doesn't identify that particular assumption.
- E
The reasoning considers what follows if value is not intrinsic. It doesn't depend on first establishing that some artworks actually have intrinsic value. E says nothing about whether judgments of extrinsic value can be objective, which is the connection the argument needs.
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