EveryoneThinks.org: Identifying Assumptions to Improve Thinking

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ASSUMPTIONS:

Assumptions are beliefs we take for granted.

Everyone makes assumptions. We have to. But our assumptions are not always justifiable, given the evidence. It isn't easy to ferret out our assumptions because they are usually unconscious in the mind. They form a belief system built up throughout our lives which we automatically take to be true, and not in need of examining or questioning.

The root of problems in thinking often lies with false assumptions. Because assumptions are usually unconscious, they often embody prejudices, biases, stereotypes, and one-sided beliefs.

Critical thinkers regularly examine their assumptions.

Learn to Identify Assumptions

Click Here to further examine and learn to identify assumptions.

" Always assume that you are subject to the same human failings as everyone else. "

~ Anonymous

The concepts from this page are found in...

From the Bookstore
The Thinker’s Guide For Conscientious Citizens on How to Detect Media Bias & Propaganda

Designed to help readers come to recognize bias in their nation’s news, to detect ideology, slant, and spin at work, and to recognize propaganda w... Read More

Assumptions Lead to Inferences or Conclusions

We use assumptions to figure things out and make decisions. If you assume it is dangerous to walk late at night in big cities and you are staying in Chicago, you will infer that it is dangerous to go for a walk late at night while you are there. If you assume that all long-haired men are radicals, you will infer that any given man with long hair is a radical. If your assumptions in any given situation are sound, your inferences, or conclusions, will be sound.

Often different people make different inferences because they have dissimilar viewpoints. They see the "data" differently because they begin with different assumptions.

Consider these two opposing ways of reasoning about the same situation:

Person One

Situation: A man is lying in the gutter.
Inference: That man's a bum.
Assumption: Only bums lie in gutters.

Person Two

Situation: A man is lying in the gutter.
Inference: That man is in need of help.
Assumption: Anyone lying in the gutter is in need of help.

Questions you can ask about your assumptions:

What am I taking for granted?

Am I assuming something I shouldn't?

What assumption is leading me to this conclusion?

What is… (this policy, strategy, explanation) assuming?

Why are you assuming...?

What are some important assumptions I make about my spouse, my friends, my supervisor, my children, my country, foreigners?