Question

People have claimed that Jamie’s paintings have given them the blues. Clearly this cannot be entirely correct, since many of Jamie’s paintings contain no blue at all.

The argument above is flawed because the author:

a. provides no evidence
b. misinterprets a key term
c. relies on contradictory facts
d. is not a noted painting expert

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. Misinterprets a key term

Step-by-step explanation:

In an argument, you should provide relevant evidence to prove or disprove a claim. Besides this, it is important to understand the key terms or the focus of the claim to provide appropriate evidence.

In the case presented, the author has misinterpreted the word "blues" in the claim that means sadness or melancholy rather than the color blue; this means people feel Jamie's paintings cause in them sadness or melancholy. However, as the author of the argument has not understand this, he affirms "this cannot be entirely correct, since many of Jamie’s paintings contain no blue at all". Thus, the argument is flawed or incorrect because the key term "blue" has been misinterpreted.