Q16 - Art may make the world more beautiful, but

[Laura Damone]

Question Type:
ID the Flaw

Stimulus Breakdown:
Conclusion: One should choose a career in some profession other than art.
Evidence: Whether and how much artists get paid is determined by a subjective evaluation of their work. It's unacceptable for one's pay to be determined by subjectice evaluations of one's work.

Answer Anticipation:
Ruh-roh…this seems like a pretty decent argument. There's no major term shift. There's no concept in the conclusion that isn't addressed in the premises. That should lead us to anticipate that the right answer will point out a flaw in the form of something that the argument has overlooked. What has it overlooked? We probably won't know until we see it in the answers.

Correct answer:
C

Answer choice analysis:
(A) Nope - this argument doesn't assume that people should choose careers solely on the basis of pay. It explicitly states that some pay considerations should rule out some careers. Furthermore, "solely" is really strong language for an answer phrased as an assumption, so we should consider that a red flag.

(B) Beauty is a red herring. Notice that it comes before the pivot indicator "but." This means it's part of the opposing point, not the argument core. Furthermore, "everyone or no one" is really strong language, so, just like in A, we've got a red flag because of the degree of the answer.

(C) If a flaw answer beginning with "overlooks the possibility that" is going to be correct, that possibility would have to be an objection that would weaken the argument. Would it weaken the argument if pay in any profession involves some degree of subjective evaluation? It sure would. That would reduce the argument to an absurd conclusion: that no career is acceptable!

(D) This answer also has a problematic degree; It's too weak! So what if some artists are well-paid. That only necessarily implies that one artist in the whole of human history has been well-paid. Replacing "some" with "one" is a great way to see if an answer is really strong enough to have an impact as written. This one, I'm afraid, is not.

(E) Criterion that must be satisfied? Criterion that will ensure? That's conditional language if I ever heard it! The former is referring to a necessary condition and the latter a sufficient condition. So, this answer is saying the argument has an Illegal Reversal flaw: treating something necessary as though it were sufficient. Is that what our argument does? Nope. Eliminate!

Takeaway/Pattern:
Flaw questions can be brutal when you can't pinpoint an exact flaw. In fact, that's true of any question in the Assumption family. And yet, it happens all the time. When it happens to you, stay calm. If you can't see a term shift or a flaw with a name, the argument has probably overlooked evidence to the contrary. For Flaw questions and Weaken questions, expect the right answer to attack the argument by raising an objection. For Strengthen questions and Assumption questions, expect the right answer to defend against such an objection. And when it comes to evaluating answer choices, especially when you don't have a solid prephrase, remember tendencies and red flags. For Flaw questions, answers that begin with assumption language have to describe a necessary assumption, so extreme degree is a red flag. Answers that begin with language like "overlooks the possibility that" or "fails to consider" have to describe an objection to the argument, so weak degree is a red flag. An objection has to be forceful enough to weaken the argument!

#officialexplanation

[XochitlC155]

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