Feb17 Summary (TFY C5, Assumptions)

This chapter takes a look at that familiar word, assumption. It is something we take for granted, something we accept prematurely as being true, something we do not check out carefully.


Firstly, Assumptions can be conscious or unconscious, warranted or unwarranted. The different is that unconscious and unwarranted assumptions can lead to faulty reasoning, whereas conscious and warranted assumptions can be useful tools for problem solving. Training in critical thinking can help us avoid making as many unconscious assumptions as well as unwarranted ones.


Furthermore, Hidden assumptions exert a powerful effect on our reasoning. How should we go about identifying hidden assumptions? There are two main steps involved. First, determine whether the argument is valid or not. If the argument is valid, the conclusion does indeed follow from the premises, and so the premises have shown explicitly the assumptions needed to derive the conclusion. There are then no hidden assumptions involved. But if the argument is not valid, you should check carefully what additional premises should be added to the argument that would make it valid. We perceive incongruities when we observe situations that do not meet our expectations or assumptions.


Incongruity is something that does not meet our expectations about what is correct, appropriate, logical, or standard. In studying, you have had the choice of either avoiding the disequilibrium they aroused or staying with the task long enough to reach a satisfactory for their incongruities – and thus finding a way to restore your equilibrium.


At last, as a conscious tool, we can look for assumptions when we are confronted with a problem to solve.