TEXT A An assumption is something
taken for granted. Everyone makes assumptions--you have to in order to say
anything. As a critical reader, you need to determine what the assumption is and
then decide whether you agree or disagree with the assumption. Once you decide,
your attitude toward the argument will change. Careful, honest writers know what
their assumptions are and lay the most important ones out for all to judge.
Hidden assumptions may be all right for humor or fairly harmless in topical
journalism, but they can be dangerous in serious written argument. Important
assumptions should be explicit and detailed, for then the reader can judge their
validity. If you do not agree with a writer’s assumptions, then you will never
agree with his/her arguments, As indicated above, an assumption
is a belief that we take for granted as a basis for an assertion, All kinds of
statements rely on assumptions--questions, commands, promises, and assertions.
The simple command "Pass the salt" is based on several assumptions,
including that the salt can be passed, that you can pass it, and that I have the
right to ask you to pass it. Some assumptions are unexpressed. We would be the
joke of the neighbourhood if we went around articulating our assumptions every
time we asked someone to pass the salt. We get into trouble, however, when we
fail to recognize important assumptions that subtly guide our thoughts.
Sophocles said, "Reason is God’s crowning gift to man." A statement like this
seems innocent enough. When we think about it, we easily recognize that he was
basing the statement on two major assumptions: (1) that man has a mind, and (2)
that God exists. Hidden in the statement, however, are some subtle assumptions
that we may or may not support, including; (1) God is a personal force capable
of making a gift; (2) reason is a more important gift than heart, soul, or body;
and (3) woman’s mind is not a gift of God. Once we articulate these assumptions,
we might disagree. (339) The author’s attitude toward Sophocles’s statement is ______.