Chapter 4 Note - Lecture notes 4 PDF

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Underlying Assumption: it is a logical link that fills the gap between the evidence and the claim. We must find and state the author’s underlying assumptions. Subjecting underlying assumptions to careful scrutiny(审查) is an important step in the critique of a text, even though the evidence is in good quality——the argument is not acceptable if the underlying assumptions are questionable. ● Why are they “underlying” The author would not find the assumption consciously, it will appear in the context by following the thought and becomes part of the author's belief system. The underlying assumption for the author is something taken for granted by both the activist and his or her readers or listens. ● How to find underlying assumptions Looking at what people write and then making guesses about what they must believe in order to have written that. We look for the gap between the evidence and the claim by asking, - What must be true if the claim is to follow from this evidence? - What general principle might link this particular claim to this particular evidence? - What beliefs might I expect from this type of person? - Could someone believe this evidence and still disagree with the claim? Why? Reconstructing and evaluating underlying assumptions sometimes require that we learn moren about issues and a variety of pints of view. ● Reality assumptions Out beliefs about what events have taken place, what exists, or how things work in the world. They are out beliefs about reality, the way things we read or see on television----all things that shape our beliefs. When we have considerable experience that is consistent with a given belief, the belief becomes taken for granted. The evidences is relevant only on condition that (a) people with advanced degrees have more and better-quality knowledge and (b) they can pass this better knowledge base on author’s taken-for-granted beliefs about (what makes a teacher effective) ● Challenging reality assumptions To challenge reality assumptions, we must present information showing that author’s notions of reality and how the world works are debatable or just plain wrong, ● Value assumptions Values are our ideals, our standards of right and wrong, the way things ought to be. Often values are learned early in childhood from our parents, teachers, or classmates or through religion; other values are adopted later on, in adult lives.Also some common values, there are many specific values that embody out ideas of what is right and wrong.

Sometimes these value conflicts happen within the individual. Values may be ranked differently by different people. ● Challenging value assumptions Challenging value assumptions is a more difficult task than challenging descriptive assumptions. The task of the critical thinker becomes one of demonstrating that the author’s argument is rooted in a particular, idiosyncratic(特质的) set of value assumptions. Since other people might have a different, but equally valid, set of values, the argument is therefore not universally acceptable. ● Effective writing It is important to make each evidence clear that each piece of evidence is relevant. - Is this assumption might not hold? - Are there circumstances in which the reality assumptions might not hold? - Are there people whose value preferences might be different from or in conflict with my own? - Are all of the assumptions that underlie my argument logically consistent with one another? The self-questioning allows you to understand the foundations of your own reasoning and to spot any weakness in your argument before your readers do. ****Invented dialogues Start by making a discussion between two people who hold reality or value assumptions that conflict. It will be easier to think of people who have opposing views. Try to make their comments persuasive(有说服力的), lively and natural You should decide which of assumptions you should include explicitly in the text and which can be left unstated. If you can think of any circumstances in which your reality assumption might not be true, it is best to describe these scenarios explicitly and limit your argument accordingly. Thinking about who your audience is likely to be. Winking about the type of evidence that would be convincing for your expected readers. -

Techniques of persuasion, developing the notion of how a focus on your audience can help you make your writing more convincing,even when audience initially disagrees with you....