Examining Assumptions

In Chapter 3, we will discuss assumptions in some detail, but here we introduce the topic by emphasizing the importance of identifying and examining assumptions — those you’ll encounter in the writings of others and those you’ll rely on in your own essays.

With this in mind, let’s again consider some of the assumptions suggested in this chapter’s earlier readings. The student who wrote about Stephen Cavanaugh’s case pointed out that Nebraska prison officials simply did not see the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as a real religion. Their assumption was that some religions can be more or less “real” than others or can make more sense than others. Assumptions may be explicit or implicit, stated or unstated. In this case, the prison officials were forthright about their assumptions in their stated claim about the Church, perhaps believing their point was obvious to anyone who thought seriously about the idea of a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It didn’t occur to them to consider that even major and mainstream religions honor stories, claims, and rituals that seem absurd to others.

30

A CHECKLIST FOR EXAMINING ASSUMPTIONS

  • What assumptions does the writer’s argument presuppose?

  • Are these assumptions explicit or implicit?

  • Are these assumptions important to the author’s argument, or are they only incidental?

  • Does the author give any evidence of being aware of the hidden assumptions in her or his argument?

  • Would a critic be likely to share these assumptions, or are they exactly what a critic would challenge?

  • What sort of evidence would be relevant to supporting or rejecting these assumptions?

  • Am I willing to grant the author’s assumptions? Would most readers grant them?

  • If not, why not?

An implicit assumption is one that is not stated but, rather, is taken for granted. It works like an underlying belief that structures an argument. In Lynn Stuart Parramore’s essay on workplace biometric devices, the unstated assumption is that these sorts of technology in the workplace represent a kind of evil “big brother” intent on subduing and exploiting employees with newer and newer forms of invasion of privacy. Parramore’s assumption, while not stated directly, is evident in her choice of language, as we’ve pointed out above. Another way to discern her assumption is by looking at the scenarios and selections of examples she chooses. For example, in imagining a company that would seek to know how much time an employee spends in the lounge area or alone, Parramore sees only obsessive monitoring of employees for the purposes of regulating their time. But what if these technologies could enable a company to discover that productivity or worker satisfaction increases in proportion to the amount of time employees spend collaborating in the lounge? Maybe workplace conditions would improve instead of deteriorating (a bigger lounge, more comfortable chairs), and maybe more efforts would be made for team-building and improving interpersonal employee relations.

Consider now two of the assumptions involved in the Kim Davis case. Thanks to the clustering exercise, these and other assumptions are already on display. Perhaps the most important and fundamental assumption Davis and her supporters made is this:

Where private religious beliefs conflict with duly enacted laws, the former should prevail.

This assumption is widely held in our society; it is by no means unique to Davis and her supporters. Opponents, however, probably assumed a very different but equally fundamental proposition:

Private religious practices and beliefs must yield to the demands of laws guaranteeing citizens equal rights.

Obviously, these two assumptions are opposed to each other, and neither side can prevail so long as the key assumption of the other side is ignored.

Assumptions can be powerful sources of ideas and opinions, and understanding our own and others’ assumptions is a major part of critical thinking. Assumptions about race, class, disability, sex, and gender are among the most powerful sources of social inequality. The following essay arguing that women should be permitted to serve in combat roles in the military was published in 2012, well before the Department of Defense lifted the ban on women in combat roles in the armed forces in 2013. More recently, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter further lifted exclusions pertaining to women by granting them access to serve in all capacities in combat, including in elite special forces units. Following that development, General Lori J. Robinson made history as the first female combatant commander when she was appointed leader of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado in May 2016. Still, we reprint McGregor’s essay because it compels readers to consider some of their assumptions about women (and men). Topics for discussion appear after the essay.