underlying assumptions

Question 1

what is an underlying assumption

Answer 1

it is the logical link that fills gap between the author’s claim and the evidence

something the authors knows or believes and expects us to know already when writing his claim and presenting evidence

underlying because already too logical for author

different people have different assumptions, allows us to debate underlying assumptions

if claim is gyu and evidence gyu, it won’t be accepted if the underlying assumption(s) is/are questionable

Question 2

what are reality assumptions

Answer 2

our beliefs about reality
about the way things are

when we have quite a lot of experience consistency with a given belief this belief becomes taken for granted

can be changed by providing new information

Question 3

example of assumption p. 55 ·%

claim: smokers should be put bottom of hospital waiting list
evidence: British doctors do dis

give one reality and value assumptions

Answer 3

Reality assumption: smokers are addicted to nicotine
or
British hospitals are more efficient

value assumption: People who smoke voluntarily choose to be unhealthy and don’t deserve equal chance at healthcare
or
addict’s lives are not as important

Question 4

Reality assumption: smokers are addicted to nicotine
or
British hospitals are more efficient

value assumption: People who smoke voluntarily choose to be unhealthy and don’t deserve equal chance at healthcare
or
addict’s lives are not as important

how can you challenge this

Answer 4

reality: not all smokers are addicted to nicotine, some can control themselves
value: everybody deserves equal chance (depends on POV)

Question 5

value assumptions

Answer 5

our ideals
standards of right and wrong
the way things ought to be
often learned since childhood and adopt more growing up
very present in world of business

can be recognized with words like “ought, should, desirable, unacceptable, etc”

resistant to change, more difficult to challenge then reality assumptions

value conflicts often present, hence values are often ranked

value conflicts create disagreements and make us challenge evidence of claim

Question 6

how to find underlying assumptions

Answer 6

we guess what people think or believe by look at what they wrote and the evidence they provide

“What must be true if the claim is to follow from this evidence?”

can be hard to find if authors very knowledgable about a topic and takes for granted that we maybe know

Question 7

what to think when writing effectively regarding underlying assumptions

Answer 7

gotta make sure the assumptions are always true

are people gonna challenge my values? (what seems obvious to me may not be to all readers)

think about who the audience gonna be