PrepTest 148, Section 3, Question 16
There are already more great artworks in the(42 more words not shown)
The argument is most vulnerable(7 more words not shown)
- Aoverlooks the possibility(21 more words not shown)
- Bpresumes, without providing(16 more words not shown)
- Cpresumes, without providing(17 more words not shown)
- Doverlooks the possibility(26 more words not shown)
- Epresumes, without providing(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Having plenty of art doesn't mean a new work can't add something to someone's life. People might choose to spend their time enjoying the new work instead of another old favorite.
But we need to be precise about what that shows. The artists don't merely claim that people enjoy their work. They claim that many people feel more fulfilled than they otherwise could. Enjoying a new song wouldn't establish that if an older song could have provided just as much fulfillment. So the question is whether the abundance of existing art really rules out that added benefit.
What we’re looking for
The author treats the sheer number and variety of existing works as enough to reject every contemporary artist's claim. For the flaw, I'd look for a way new art could still make that difference to many people. We don't have to show that every artist is right; we need a reason the author hasn't established that all of them are wrong.
Working the answers
- A
The argument explicitly tells us that all contemporary artists hold this belief. A denies that stated premise rather than finding a problem in the reasoning from it. We can accept that they all believe their work adds fulfillment and still question whether the author has shown that belief to be mistaken.
- B
The author needn't assume that most people actually take time to appreciate many works. The claim concerns what existing art could offer, not how many people make full use of it. Someone might spend very little time on art while still having older works that could satisfy them just as much as a new work. B doesn't identify the missing comparison.
- C
The author doesn't conclude that contemporary art is worthless or define an artwork's value by its popularity. A work could be valuable while failing to give viewers more fulfillment than other works could. Whether the artists are right about that additional benefit is different from what makes art valuable.
- DCorrect
Existing art can't offer someone an alternative if that person can't get access to it. Imagine many people enjoying a local contemporary artist's work while having severely limited access to most other art. The enormous worldwide collection doesn't show that these people could get the same fulfillment elsewhere. This is more than saying they enjoy the new work: it explains why the supposed substitutes may not be available to them. And one artist whose work makes that difference to many people is enough to challenge the conclusion that every contemporary artist is mistaken.
- E
This is tempting because the argument certainly concerns fulfillment. But it doesn't need to assume that the amount of pleasure available from a particular new work changes when more old works exist. A new song could be equally enjoyable whether there are a hundred old songs or a million. The author's thought is that old songs could supply as much fulfillment instead, not that their existence reduces the pleasure the new song can give. The problem with that proposed alternative is whether people can actually obtain it, as D points out.
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