Identifying Biases and Assumptions

Assumption

“An assumption is any statement or idea that an author doesn't support with evidence. Assumptions are a type of claim. An author doesn't even try to provide evidence because he or she believes that it's common knowledge, that it's insignificant or because they don't even realize they've made an assumption.”

An example of assumptions

“When you're trying to find a store and a stranger tells you, it is “two blocks down the road and on the left,” you assumed that the stranger knows where the store is, you assumed he or she is telling the truth and you assumed that you have the same understanding of what “two blocks” and “on the left” are.”

A bias

“It is a prejudice towards or against something or someone. Biases are a kind of negative assumption and can include evidence. However, the evidence in a bias is limited or one-sided. Being biased at us is the opposite of being open-minded or neutral.”

An example of biases

“Take the previous example of the stranger telling you the store is two blocks down the road and on the left. If you decided not to trust the person and use their race, nationality, culture or religion as evidence, you would be exhibiting prejudice or bias.”

Where?

“The way reality is represented

The way the relationship between the writer and reader is established

The way in which the argument is presented and its relationship to knowledge

The broader features of the text and the context it appears in”

The way reality is represented

“There are such biases and assumptions as one-sided evidence, obscuring by language, and false classification schemes.”

Not representing all sides

“When in the text we don't have both sides of the issue. So it's not neutral or objective and is therefore biased. What has been excluded? Is it important?”

Obscuring by language

“The use of passive voice disguises who did the action. The author of the sentence “Bombs were dropped on the capital city Mogkadad” has decided to obscure who dropped the bombs. This was hidden in language using what's called a passive sentence.”

False classification schemes

“There are false dichotomies and the fallacies with disjunctive logic structures. President Bush in a sentence “Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists” sets up a very limiting classification scheme, putting the nations of the world into two camps. However, it's possible to be opposed to both terrorism and US foreign policy.”

The way the relationship between the writer and reader is established

“There are such biases and assumptions as using emotive language or ad hominem, words like ‘the most important,’ and positioning the reader within the same in-group.”

Manipulate the reader with emotive language or ad hominem

“It is manipulating the reader into believing an argument presented without due cause. An author does it through the use of emotive language and through attacking people rather than their arguments. An example: “Mayor Smith's plan to increase social housing will be a dreadful burden on the taxpayers of this city, and is yet another example of a politician who is bereft of ideas and appealing to populist impulses.” Here, the use of terms like ‘dreadful burden’ are clearly designed to elicit an emotional response. And labeling the mayor as ‘bereft of ideas’ is clearly an ad hominem attack.”

Words like ‘the most important’

“Making things seem more important with words like ‘the most important’ or ‘greatest idea.’ Or less important with words like ‘just’ or ‘simply’. An example: “The most important thing to remember is that homeless people are simply too lazy to find work.”

Positioning the reader within the same in-group

“No matter the outcome of the upcoming vote on housing policy, we as Asrelicans will continue to be concerned with rising housing prices and the associated increase in homelessness.” Here, the writer appeals to a shared national identity as Asrelicans to draw the reader to accept their conclusions about homelessness and housing policy. This can be frequently spotted through the use of words like ‘we’ and ‘our.’”

The way in which the argument is presented and its relationship to knowledge

“There are such biases and assumptions as the use of 'common sense' or ideologies and the use of certain or definitive language”

The use of 'common sense' or ideologies

“In the sentence “The homeless man was refused a job even though he was highly qualified” the assumption is that being highly qualified for a job means you should get it. The use of the term ‘even though’ as Fairclough suggests, signals that what would be expected to happen, given the assumption, failed to happen.”

The use of certain or definitive language

“Certain or definitive language is language that does not hedge and instead uses words like ‘proves’ or ‘definitely.’ This kind of language according to Cottrell, suggests that the argument is so obvious that there's no need to evaluate it. This is the difference between saying something like “being homeless can lead to an increased chance of drug addiction” and “being homeless naturally leads to drug addiction.”

VOCABULARY

Prejudice [ˈprɛʤʊdɪs] – предубеждение

Cognitive biases

Assume certain ideas or facts as null

null [nʌl] – invalid (недействительный)

Biases and assumptions emerge

to obscure [əbˈskjʊə]- скрывать

false dichotomies [fɔːls daɪˈkɒtəmiz]

ad hominem

SOURCE

https://www.coursera.org/learn/critical-thinking-skills/lecture/ctVem/4-2a-identifying-biases-and-assumptions-1