PrepTest 143, Section 4, Question 13
An art critic, by ridiculing an artwork, can(50 more words not shown)
The conclusion can be properly(9 more words not shown)
- AThe merit of(12 more words not shown)
- BMost people lack(10 more words not shown)
- CArt critics understand(10 more words not shown)
- DMost people seek(10 more words not shown)
- EThe pleasure people(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Changing how much I enjoy a painting isn't obviously the same as changing how good the painting is.
Imagine liking a painting, then reading a harsh review that makes you feel foolish for liking it. The review could spoil some of your enjoyment. A glowing review could work the other way and help you enjoy it more. I'm willing to accept that critics can affect the experience.
But the conclusion concerns artistic merit. The painting hasn't changed just because someone praised it. Why should the critic's effect on my pleasure count as an effect on the work's merit?
What we’re looking for
The question asks for an assumption that makes the conclusion follow. Then give us that connection: an artwork's merit depends on the pleasure it produces. If pleasure determines merit, someone who changes the pleasure can affect the merit too.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
Merit is determined by how much pleasure the artwork elicits. We already know critics can change that amount of pleasure through praise or ridicule. Under A's rule, critics can therefore change what determines the work's merit, establishing that merit can depend on them as well as on the creator.
- B
A lack of confidence might help explain why people rely on critics. It doesn't connect their reactions to the artwork's merit. Even very insecure viewers could have experiences that change while the artistic merit, judged by some independent standard, stays the same.
- C
Understanding what gives something merit is different from affecting that merit. A critic could recognize artistic qualities better than the artist without changing those qualities. The conclusion needs influence over merit, not superior knowledge of it.
- D
Reading reviews before looking at art could give critics opportunities to influence viewers. But the premises already tell us critics can affect pleasure. More opportunities to do that still don't show that pleasure affects artistic merit.
- E
This broadens the idea that other people's opinions influence enjoyment. It stays on the pleasure side of the gap. Even if our enjoyment usually responds to what others feel, we still need a rule connecting that enjoyment to artistic merit.
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