Q20 - Art Historian: Robbins cannot pass

[peg_city]

Can someone explain to me why D is right?

I ruled out D because I felt that it was too general. If it had said "Stuart's art can be neither praised nor dismissed by Robbins" I would have considered it.

Thanks again

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

You're doing better than you think... Answer choice (D) is wrong. The correct answer is (A) which contains that element about "Robins" that you were looking for. Great work!

[timmydoeslsat]

I would like to talk about this one.

A sufficient assumption answer for this one would have been:

~understand it well enough to praise it ---> ~pass judgement

I am not understanding how it is necessary in order to pass judgement that "dismiss" is part of the either-or option with praise it.

What if the answer choice would have said:

in order to pass judgement on Stuart's art, Robbins must be able to praise it.

That is the contrapositive of the gap I established. Is it OK without the component of "dismiss?" If it is OK, then the correct answer of (A) is not really correct because it includes a superfluous option.

If what I stated is not necessary, how is it not?

I have noticed that on many conditional linking stimulus necessary assumption questions, that the correct answer is both necessary and sufficient.

[u2manish]

Hi there,

Could some one walk us through this one using formal logic. I was able to do it with English...! since i am in the middle of learning the rules, it will be a great help.

Cheers,
M

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Here's a formal logic approach to this question...

~D + ~P
------------
~PJ

Notation Key: D = dismiss, P = praise, PJ = pass judgement

The assumption of this argument is:

~D + ~P ---> ~PJ

If we add this to the evidence, the conclusion will follow perfectly.

~D + ~P ---> ~PJ
~D + ~P
--------------------
~PJ

The assumption can be expressed in the form of the contrapositive as well though:

PJ ---> D or P

This is perfectly expressed in answer choice (A).

Let's look at the incorrect answers:

(B) is irrelevant. Does not connect the conclusion about "not passing judgement" with the evidence about "not being able to dismiss nor praise art."
(C) again connects understanding art, when it should be connecting whether Robins can pass judgement on art.
(D) need not be assumed. The argument is about whether Robins can pass judgement based on the fact that Robins can neither praise nor dismiss Stuart's art. Whether not being able to praise nor dismiss Stuart's art is universally true, is irrelevant.
(E) again connects understanding art, when it should be connecting whether Robins can pass judgement on art.

Hope that helps!

[tzyc]

Why is "While Robbins...praise it" translated in ~D+~P?
I thought it would be D+~P...
Understand dismiss and dismiss different? Where does it say she does not dismiss it...??

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

Why is "While Robbins...praise it" translated in ~D+~P?
I thought it would be D+~P...

Well can Robins dismiss Stuart's art? The stimulus says, "no." Can Robins praise Stuart's art? Again, the stimulus says, "no."

You focussed on understanding, when that was just a means of supporting the claim that Robins cannot dimiss Stuart's art.

[Dannyboy3D]

Why is "While Robbins...praise it" translated in ~D+~P?
I thought it would be D+~P...
Understand dismiss and dismiss different? Where does it say she does not dismiss it...??

Robbins' understanding is apparently too well to dismiss Stuart's art.

That indicates to me that Robbins is either unwilling or incapable of dismissing Stuart's art because Robbins thinks it's too well...and that's why I would go with ~D.

[WaltGrace1983]

I would like to talk about this one.

A sufficient assumption answer for this one would have been:

~understand it well enough to praise it ---> ~pass judgement

I am not understanding how it is necessary in order to pass judgement that "dismiss" is part of the either-or option with praise it.

What if the answer choice would have said:

in order to pass judgement on Stuart's art, Robbins must be able to praise it.

That is the contrapositive of the gap I established. Is it OK without the component of "dismiss?" If it is OK, then the correct answer of (A) is not really correct because it includes a superfluous option.

If what I stated is not necessary, how is it not?

I have noticed that on many conditional linking stimulus necessary assumption questions, that the correct answer is both necessary and sufficient.

I don't think anyone touched upon this so I will do my best to do so. The argument is saying the following...

R understands S's art too well to dismiss it (~D)
R understands S's art not well enough to praise it (~P)
→
R cannot pass judgment on S's art

The assumption here is that at least one of these conditions, being able to either (dismiss) the art or (praise) the art, is necessary to (pass judgment). The author is assuming that (praise) or (dismissal) are important to judge art.

Let's make this clear though. The author is NOT saying that (praise) and (dismissal) are important, just that one of these things is necessary. So when we read (A), that is exactly what is expressed: In order to pass judgement (introducing the sufficient condition), R must be able to either dismiss it or praise it. In other words, (judgement → D or P)

Let's try negating this: "In order to pass judgement on Stuart's art, Robbins doesn't have to be be able either to dismiss it or praise it." In this case, we are letting wondering, "well then why does it even matter if Robbins cannot dismiss or praise it?!" In other words, we would be saying that the conclusion does not follow from the premises. This is what some people call a "destroyed argument."

So if we go all the way back to your thoughts, (A) does seem to be sufficient too. If we put this in formal notation, we would get: (~D or ~P → ~J). Our sufficient condition is satisfied and the necessary condition is satisfied - perfect! However, if we were to not include (dismiss) or (praise) from the answer choice, this would actually signal a wrong answer. (Praise) is not necessary; (Dismiss) is not necessary. (Praise) OR (Dismiss) IS necessary.

Hope that helps someone.