Q13 - An art critic, by ridiculing

[kamptaryc]

Ok i chose E. Is it incorrect because it strengthen the argument and it did not speak about "artistic merit" ??

[noah]

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head about (E) - it sounds like you didn't boil down this argument to its core.

The conclusion of this argument is that an artwork's merit can depend on both the artist and the critics.

Why? Because a critic can increase or decrease the pleasure someone feels when viewing the art (through a positive or negative critique).

What's the gap? Do you notice the shift from talking about pleasure to talking about merit? Who says that the pleasure viewers feel has anything to do with the merit of art? Maybe it's the technical difficulty that determines the art's merit. (A) bridges that gap quite nicely.

(B) is out of scope - it's about confidence. What?!

(C) is comparing artists and critics. We already know they have two different roles; it's out of scope to try to relate them.

(D) is tempting. "Sure," you might think, "critics can affect our experience with their critiques, but that assumes I actually read those critiques!" Good point! However, notice that the conclusion is that the merit can depend on critics (and artists). It's fine if some art is dependent on something else, or only artists. The argument is riddled with "can" - we're just interested in whether all of this can be true.

(E) is a premise booster - it's just explaining how or why a critic can influence our experience of art. Who cares why it happens, we just need to know that it does. Accept premises obediently!

I hope that helps. For an added challenge, do you see why (A) is a sufficient assumption and not a necessary one?

[s.atrmachin3]

I hope that helps. For an added challenge, do you see why (A) is a sufficient assumption and not a necessary one?

I'd say it's because of the strength of the term determined. The conclusion says artistic merit also depends on those who critically evaluate it (i.e. eliciting pleasure is one aspect of determining merit), whereas our answer choice is suggesting that pleasure determines artistic merit entirely.

L

[noah]

I hope that helps. For an added challenge, do you see why (A) is a sufficient assumption and not a necessary one?

I'd say it's because of the strength of the term determined. The conclusion says artistic merit also depends on those who critically evaluate it (i.e. eliciting pleasure is one aspect of determining merit), whereas our answer choice is suggesting that pleasure determines artistic merit entirely.

L

I'm not seeing that issue--I think both the argument and (A) are about determining something. But my thoughts are actually similar: I think it's only necessary because the argument is about how an art critic can this or can that, while (A) is definite.

[JosephV]

Hi,

Could someone please confirm (or refute) my analysis below?

Answer choice (E) states: "typically influenced by what they think others feel about [something]."

One, the argument does not give enough evidence to be able to conclude that a certain thing is "typical."

Two, the only "others" whose "feelings" might have an influence on people in this argument are art critics. The stimulus, however, never mentions anythig about art critics' feelings.

Thank you.