Critical Reasoning

If the artificial is not better than the natural, to what end are all the arts of life? To dig, to plow, to build, to wear clothes—all are direct violations of the injunction to follow nature.
17. Which one of the following is an assumption made by the author of the passage?
(A) The arts of life have no useful end.
(B) The artificial is not better than the natural.
(C) Digging, plowing, building, and wearing clothes are better than nature.
(D) The injunction to follow nature should not be violated.
(E) The arts of life are indirect means of following nature.

IMO:E!

rocky wrote:If the artificial is not better than the natural, to what end are all the arts of life? To dig, to plow, to build, to wear clothes�all are direct violations of the injunction to follow nature.
17. Which one of the following is an assumption made by the author of the passage?
(A) The arts of life have no useful end.
(B) The artificial is not better than the natural.
(C) Digging, plowing, building, and wearing clothes are better than nature.
(D) The injunction to follow nature should not be violated.
(E) The arts of life are indirect means of following nature.

E

IMO E

If the artificial is not better than the natural, to what end are all the arts of life? To dig, to plow, to build, to wear clothes- all are direct violations of the injunction to follow nature.

There is on conclusion here. Both are Premises.

P1: If Artificial is not better than natural, then what are the end of "Arts~of~life"?
P2: To dig, to plow, to build, to wear clothes - all are violations of the warning to follow nature.

Everything here revolve around the word "Injunction", which means "Warning".

Overall P1 is saying that you can not make anything better than Natural, but P2 goes against it and saying these are few activities which goes against this nature rule.

(A) The arts of life have no useful end.
"No useful" - too vague.

(B) The artificial is not better than the natural.
"This opinion has been already given".

(C) Digging, plowing, building, and wearing clothes are better than nature.
If these activities are not better, then P2 will fall apart.

(D) The injunction to follow nature should not be violated.
"should not" is a turn off.

(E) The arts of life are indirect means of following nature.
No reason just by POE.

I will go with C here.

To dig, to plow, to build, to wear clothes = are all given as examples of artificial.

If the artificial is not better than the natural, to what end are all the arts of life => Seems to suggest that the author believes that artificial is indeed better than natural. And gives all the arts of life as example.