Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 4 · Question 15

Question prompt

It is often said Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Weaken Questions

Stimulus Summary

What older cultures considered beautiful we still consider beautiful, so beauty can’t be subjective.

Answer Anticipation

The conclusion of this argument is that the conclusion that beauty is subjective is false - in other words, it’s objective.
Why does it believe that it’s not in the eye of the beholder? Because looking at beautiful art in the past shows works that are still considered beautiful today. If two different cultures consider the same artwork beautiful, then there must be something objective about it, right?
Well, that depends. If people independently decide that certain works are beautiful, then there might be an objective standard of beauty. However, if the later cultures were influenced by the earlier ones, the standards of beauty may be subjective, and the earlier ones set those standards that we still follow.
Any answer, then, that suggests the earlier cultures’ view of beauty has influenced modern ones would suggest that these standards of beauty are subjective, weakening the argument.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Few contemporary artists have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    First, we don’t know that the contemporary artists are the ones making works considered beautiful today. However, ignoring that, establishing that these artists are developing their style independent of the earlier cultures would strengthen the argument for an objective standard of beauty, not weaken it.

  2. B
    The arts held a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The importance that art played in culture doesn’t speak to the objectivity/subjectivity of the concepts of beauty in that art.

  3. C
    Our own standard of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    If modern standards of beauty were influenced by earlier cultures, then the similarities between them aren’t good evidence for it being objective. By connecting the two, this answer suggests that they might be subjective, weakening the argument.

  4. D
    Much of what passes Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Importance is out of scope. This answer also discusses works that aren’t beautiful, so they’re still based on some standard of beauty.

  5. E
    In most cultures art Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    There’s nothing saying that art ownership limits whose standards of beauty that art is based on.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 11%
  2. B 4%
  3. C Credited 64%
  4. D 18%
  5. E 2%

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