PrepTest 156, Section 2, Question 21
Philosopher: For some kinds of art, there is(50 more words not shown)
The philosopher's reasoning is flawed(2 more words not shown)
- Arelies exclusively on(9 more words not shown)
- Bignores the fact(17 more words not shown)
- Cfails to consider(13 more words not shown)
- Dfails to consider(23 more words not shown)
- Efails to consider(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
People disagree. Does that mean there can't be any valid standard?
Imagine two viewers disagreeing about whether a painting is good. They might have different tastes while still recognizing some shared criteria, such as the skill of the brushwork. Similarly, preferring comedies to dramas needn't mean we reject every possible standard for how well a movie tells a story.
That doesn't prove any particular criterion is objective. It shows why the philosopher moves too quickly. The evidence is that a work strikes different people differently. The conclusion rules out all valid objective standards for judging paintings and sculptures. Why couldn't personal preferences and some valid standards coexist?
What we’re looking for
That's the gap I'd want the flaw answer to address. The philosopher needs more than disagreement about particular works to establish that no objective standard exists.
Working the answers
- A
The argument doesn't rely exclusively on the old saying. It also points to people's different responses to the same painting or sculpture. We can grant that disagreement and still question what follows from it. The flaw lies in the step to no objective standards, not simply in mentioning an adage.
- B
Disagreement about literature or poetry doesn't resolve the issue about paintings and sculptures. The conclusion is limited to those two kinds of art. We don't need the philosopher to discuss every art form before evaluating the inference actually made.
- C
Even if objective standards exist for music, that wouldn't by itself establish objective standards for paintings or sculptures. The conclusion doesn't claim there are no standards for any art whatsoever. C shifts us to an art form outside the claim we're assessing.
- DCorrect
This gives a more specific explanation for the disagreement than my initial reaction. The viewers could use the same valid criteria but apply them incorrectly. One person's bad application of a rule doesn't mean the rule itself is invalid.
Suppose both viewers judge a painting partly by control of brushwork, but one mistakes an intentional effect for poor control. Their disagreement could arise from applying the criterion differently, rather than from the absence of a shared standard. We aren't proving that this happened; its possibility shows why disagreement alone doesn't establish the philosopher's conclusion.
- E
Knowing that the people are experts doesn't establish that disagreement rules out objective standards. Experts could still differ in taste or make mistakes applying criteria. Their qualifications don't settle the relationship between disagreement and the existence of a valid standard.
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