by bbirdwell Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:45 pm
I don't have a book handy with a page number. These questions are covered in the chapter(s) called Analyze the Argument Questions, which could include this type and a couple of others. We call them Identify the Disagreement.
They conclusions will not always explicitly disagree. Sometimes they arrive at the same conclusion from different angles. And sometimes there's a slightly subtler mechanism at play.
First look core of Zach's argument:
Conclusion:
to make the chapel the way M intended it to be, everything but original must be stripped away.
Premises:
1. once dried, fresco preserves a certain way.
2. additions to chapel made by other painters have obscured M's work
Then consider Stephen's statement: sometimes artists added details to their own stuff later.
This is an interesting variation on this kind of problem, because the overlap is not obvious. Clearly, Stephen doesn't take issue with either of Zach's premises -- he doesn't change the definition of the word "fresco," nor does he argue that other painters have NOT obscured M's work.
So we're left with Zach's conclusion. Let's take another look:
to restore to M's intention, everything but original must be stripped away.
Stephen suggests that some artists add to their own work AFTER the original has dried.
He doesn't necessarily draw a different conclusion than Zach. He does, however, question an assumption in Zach's argument.
That's why (A) is correct and (C) is not.
What assumption is that, you say?
Notice how Zach's conclusion suggests that M did not add anything to his own work after the original plaster was laid down. Stephen is basically saying "Wait a minute! Sometimes artists added to their own work later, so it's possible that by stripping everything but the original, we'll take away something M put up there himself!"
Does that make sense?