C is the right answer.Quote:
Books about architectural works, unless they are not intended for a general audience, ought to include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of each of the buildings they consider. If they do not, they are flawed. Morton’s book on Italian Baroque palaces describes these palaces’ functional aspects, but fails to mention that the main hall of a palace he discusses at length has a ceiling that is one of the truly breathtaking masterpieces of Western art.
If the statements above are true, it would be necessary to establish which one of the following in order to conclude that Morton’s book is flawed?
First of all, let's establish logical statements that can be inferred correctly from the statement above.
1. They (books about architectural works) are intended for a general audience ---->They ought to include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered.
2. They don't include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered-----> They are not intended for a general audience
3. They do not (include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the building considered)-----> They are flawed
4. They are not flawed -----> They do (include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered)
3 and 4 above establish the condition for which an architectural book will be considered flawed or not flawed. But does that mean that any architectural book that does not include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal is flawed? No. From 1 and 2, we realize that these books must be books that are intended for a public audience. Hence an architectural book not intended for a public audience won't be necessarily flawed if they do not include discussions of both the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered in the book. So we need to establish two things: whether the book is intended for public use and whether the book includes discussions of both the utility and aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered in the book.
Our task is to look for the answer choice that includes either of the two conditions or both of the two conditions enumerated above. Only option C states that Morton's book is intended for a general audience, which is one of the conditions that have to be established in order to determine whether a book on architectural work is flawed. C is thus the correct answer.
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(A) Morton’s description of the palaces’ utility is inaccurate.
The argument above is not interested in determining the accuracy of the description of the palaces' utility. A is incorrect.
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(B) Morton’s book does not discuss aspects of the palaces other than utility and aesthetic appeal.
Option B is tricky. To determine whether an architectural book is flawed is not contingent on the discussion of
only the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the building considered. Instead, it is contingent on whether the book includes discussions on the utility and the aesthetic appeal of the buildings considered in the book. B is thus incorrect.
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(C) Morton’s book is intended for a general audience.
Correct per the reasoning above.
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(D) The passage discussing the palace plays a very important role in helping to establish the overall argument of Morton’s book.
Completely out of scope and irrelevant to the two conditions enumerated above as necessary to determine whether an architectural book is flawed.
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(E) The palace discussed at length is one of the most aesthetically important of those treated in Morton’s book.
E is incorrect because it does not talk about the need to establish whether the architectural book satisfies any of or both of the two conditions established above.