To which Reading Comprehension question type does the following question stem belong?
"The attitude of the author of the passage toward X is best described as one of"
Very good!
Detail questions deal with what is clearly and explicitly stated in the passage. The answer to the above question, on the other hand, will not be stated in the passage. You won't find a sentence that states what the author's attitude is. Rather, you'll be able to deduce the author's attitude indirectly from what he or she writes about X.
Inference questions deal with what can be logically inferred on the basis of a certain sentence or piece of information. They do not deal with the author's attitude.