#24 - Monica: The sculpture commissioned for our town plaza

[wwarui]

Hi Dave,

September 1998 Logical Reasoning Section II
Question: 24

Please explain the stimulus and the answer to this question. I haven't been able to figure out the correct answer even after redoing it without a timer.
Thanks.

[Robert Carroll]

wwarui,

I hope it is ok if I answer this question for you.

Monica acknowledges that the public does not like the sculpture, but claims that because the public doesn't know much about contemporary art, their opinion says nothing about its artistic merit, so it's not a good reason to remove it. Monica obviously believes that artistic merit, rather than popularity, is the correct criterion for judging whether to remove the sculpture.

Hector acknowledges that the sculpture may have artistic merit, but claims that since the sculpture was commissioned for a public place, public opinion is the correct criterion for judging whether it should be removed.

Note that each concedes something to the other - Monica admits the sculpture is unpopular, and Hector admits that is may have artistic merit. Because of this, they don't disagree about the fact of whether it's a good work or art or whether it's unpopular - they disagree about whether popularity or artistic merit should be the reason to judge whether it stays or goes.

Since this is a Point at Issue question, you can check answers by using the Agree/Disagree Test. In other words, if an answer is correct, one person will agree with it, and the other will disagree with it.

Applying the test:

A: Monica disagrees, since she thinks public opinion doesn't affect artistic merit. Hector, however, has no opinion: he says "You may be right" there there is no connection, but we need him to AGREE to A for this to be the correct choice. He offers no opinion, and even says that Monica may be right.

B: Neither person says anything about artistic merit benefiting the public.

C: Monica disagrees with this, saying that public opinion isn't a reason anyway, and that artistic merit should be the criterion. Hector says that negative public opinion is ONE good reason to remove the work, but never says that is the only reason that could exist. So we don't know if he agrees. This can't be the right answer.

D: Monica's opinion on this is unknown - she never discusses what benefits the public. Thus, though Hector would agree, this cannot be the correct answer.

E: Monica agrees with this, while Hector disagrees. So this is the correct answer.

[wwarui]

Yes, it is ok for you or any other instructor to answer any of my questions. I just asked Dave because he had answered my other general questions, but I am totally comfortable with any Powerscore instructor.

Yes, yes, now I see why this was the answer. Thank you for this clarification. It's very helpful.

[est15]

Why is (C) not as good of answer as (E)? In both, it seems like there is something that Monica and Hector would disagree about.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi est15!

Answer choice (C) is a little too strong here. Monica would definitely disagree that the only reason for removing a work of art commissioned for a public space would be that public opinion is against the work. But Hector would not necessarily agree that public opinion is the ONLY reason to remove a work of art. He agrees that it is one reason for removing a work of art but he may agree with other reasons for removing a work of art as well (for instance, maybe a work of art constitutes a safety hazard).

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[lsatfighter]

I understand why E is right, but I'm having a hard time understanding why C is wrong. For C, it's obvious to me that Monica would disagree with it. But because Hector says "popular opinion is ultimately the ONLY way..." and C says "The ONLY reason...", it seems that Hector would agree with C.

Is C wrong because it's the reverse of Hector's conclusion? I can see that C does reverse the sufficient-necessary terms of Hector's conclusion. Can someone please explain to me why C is wrong and why E is the best answer choice?

[Robert Carroll]

fighter,

Consider what Hector is saying - basically, if public opinion is against such an artwork, it ought to be removed. That may be true, but that doesn't cover all the possible reasons to remove such an artwork - Hector says these works of art should benefit the public, but he nowhere says that this is the only consideration at issue. He's saying when the artwork should be removed - but is he saying that, in the absence of public opposition, the artwork should remain? No. So the "only" language of answer choice (C) is too strong. The "only" there is certainly not applied to the same concept as the "only" language in Hector's argument, so make sure not to equate them.

Robert Carroll

[ericj_williams]

wwarui,

I hope it is ok if I answer this question for you.

Monica acknowledges that the public does not like the sculpture, but claims that because the public doesn't know much about contemporary art, their opinion says nothing about its artistic merit, so it's not a good reason to remove it. Monica obviously believes that artistic merit, rather than popularity, is the correct criterion for judging whether to remove the sculpture.

Hector acknowledges that the sculpture may have artistic merit, but claims that since the sculpture was commissioned for a public place, public opinion is the correct criterion for judging whether it should be removed.

Note that each concedes something to the other - Monica admits the sculpture is unpopular, and Hector admits that is may have artistic merit. Because of this, they don't disagree about the fact of whether it's a good work or art or whether it's unpopular - they disagree about whether popularity or artistic merit should be the reason to judge whether it stays or goes.

Since this is a Point at Issue question, you can check answers by using the Agree/Disagree Test. In other words, if an answer is correct, one person will agree with it, and the other will disagree with it.

Applying the test:

A: Monica disagrees, since she thinks public opinion doesn't affect artistic merit. Hector, however, has no opinion: he says "You may be right" there there is no connection, but we need him to AGREE to A for this to be the correct choice. He offers no opinion, and even says that Monica may be right.

B: Neither person says anything about artistic merit benefiting the public.

C: Monica disagrees with this, saying that public opinion isn't a reason anyway, and that artistic merit should be the criterion. Hector says that negative public opinion is ONE good reason to remove the work, but never says that is the only reason that could exist. So we don't know if he agrees. This can't be the right answer.

D: Monica's opinion on this is unknown - she never discusses what benefits the public. Thus, though Hector would agree, this cannot be the correct answer.

E: Monica agrees with this, while Hector disagrees. So this is the correct answer.

I don't think Monica disagrees on C. I think she has no opinion here. She doesn't talk about reasons for removing, she talks about reasons for NOT removing.

[ericj_williams]

I picked E, but how is Monica disagreeing here?

Central seems like such a strong word.

It seems like Monica is saying that popularity should not determine artistic merit. But this does not seem to provide evidence against it being central. It seems like the correct answer would say "popularity should be central."

Monica would disagree with popularity being central, as she says is cannot determine merit, where Hector would say it does matter, as popularity indicates benefit.

I am having trouble seeing where exactly Monica is disagreeing with merit being central, when it seems she is only saying popularity can't determine merit. But that doesn't really seem to say anything about it's relative importance. It could be central, but it's just not determined by popularity.

[ericj_williams]

I picked E, but how is Monica disagreeing here?

Central seems like such a strong word.

It seems like Monica is saying that popularity should not determine artistic merit. But this does not seem to provide evidence against it being central. It seems like the correct answer would say "popularity should be central."

Monica would disagree with popularity being central, as she says is cannot determine merit, where Hector would say it does matter, as popularity indicates benefit.

I am having trouble seeing where exactly Monica is disagreeing with merit being central, when it seems she is only saying popularity can't determine merit. But that doesn't really seem to say anything about it's relative importance. It could be central, but it's just not determined by popularity.

We know that Hector would disagree, because he says public benefit is central, but what is Monica saying is central? She just says what should not be determinative, not what should be determinative.