Q15 - Jewel collectors, fearing that their eyes

[geverett]

I got the answer right through Process of Elimination. This question is eerily similar this question about mitigating punishment on the basis of motives in that both have answers that seem to support the conclusion in a more extreme manner than one would expect. Check it out here and let me know what you think:


q22-many-people-believe-that-the-punishment-t427.html

[noah]

The thing with principles is that they often do go beyond what's needed. I call them "assumptions with egos." So, that's what you're sensing in this problem and the other one. They act like sufficient assumptions.

In this problem, we need to help this core:

the naked eye can't tell that a counterfeit diamond is counterfeit and should give the same aesthetic pleasure --> counterfeit diamond should be valued the same as a real diamond.

The problem is that this argument assumes that aesthetic pleasure plays a part in determining value. Shouldn't we take into account how rare it is, etc.? (D) addresses this gap, and does the job quite well since it suggests that aesthetic pleasure is the ONLY factor to consider. If it weren't the answer wouldn't be as strong, since if aesthetic value were just one factor, then maybe another factor would lead us to value the real and counterfeit diamonds differently.

(A) is about what collectors should collect - we are interested in the values of two jewels.

(B) is out of scope - market demand?

(D) is questioning the premise about counterfeits providing aesthetic pleasure - accept the premise! Especially in a principle strengthen question!

(E) is about buying jewels - the argument is about assigning them value.