December 2004 Section 4 (#17)

[melissa27]

Can you please explain questions #17, specifically why the respective answer choices are correct and the rest are incorrect.

Thank you!!

[Steve Stein]

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for your question. It would be helpful if you could clarify your thinking--were you able to break this one down at all, or rule out any of the wrong answer choices?

Thanks!

~Steve

[melissa27]

I actually answered it correctly, but I was not confident since I wasn't sure how to attack the question.

I tried to diagram it but didn't very far. But thought the correct answer would hinge on the term "objective" since it wasn't mentioned with being "extrinsic" but was when the value of the artwork was intrinsic.

How should I have diagrammed this, or how should I have thought about how to attack this problem?

[Steve Stein]

Thanks for your response. Here, the art critic says criticism focuses on two things:

a) whether an artwork has intrinsic value
b) whether its quality is objectively judged or based on personal taste

The critic claims that if an artwork lacks intrinsic value, its quality judgments must be merely based on taste (i.e., they cannot be objectively judged).

The question says that the flaw in the criticism is that it takes for granted that _______.

My prephrase: the critic takes for granted that anything lacking intrinsic value can only be judged based on taste, and cannot be objectively judged. This is provided by correct answer choice C.

Let me know whether that makes sense--thanks!

~Steve