PHI103 week 1 assignment
Inference and Assumption
Brittany Hicks
PHI 103: Informal Logic
Grady Watts
May 4, 2015
It is said that knowing the difference between inference and assumptions is a very important intellectual skill. I am going to be focusing on the two elements and giving a few examples on how they are connected as well. Inference is an intellectual act by which one concludes that something is true in light of something else being true or seeming to be true. For example when a doctor makes a diagnosis about why you are sick. Assumption is something we previously learned and do not question. It’s all part of our beliefs, and we assume our beliefs to be true and use them to interpret the world about us. For example, as a driver in the highway, I assume that other drivers will obey traffic signals, so that when I go through an intersection with a green light, I assume that the cross traffic will stop at its red light. I have come up with four inferences that I will connect with the underlying assumption. The first situation giving by Foundations for Critical Thinking is a man lying in the gutter. The inference is that the man is in need of help and the assumption is anyone lying in the gutter is in need of help. The second situation is a woman in a wheelchair. The inference is she must have a sad life and the assumption is all people in wheelchairs have a sad life. Third situation is a police officer trails your car closely for several blocks. The inference is he is going to pull me over, and the assumption is whenever a police officer trails people he is going to pull them over. The fourth situation is if there are black clouds in the sky the inference would be that it is going to rain, and the assumption is that it usually rains when there are black clouds in the sky. Looking back at the four situation I feel like the proper inferences were situation one, situation three, and situation four. The improper inference would be situation two and
Brittany Hicks
PHI 103: Informal Logic
Grady Watts
May 4, 2015
It is said that knowing the difference between inference and assumptions is a very important intellectual skill. I am going to be focusing on the two elements and giving a few examples on how they are connected as well. Inference is an intellectual act by which one concludes that something is true in light of something else being true or seeming to be true. For example when a doctor makes a diagnosis about why you are sick. Assumption is something we previously learned and do not question. It’s all part of our beliefs, and we assume our beliefs to be true and use them to interpret the world about us. For example, as a driver in the highway, I assume that other drivers will obey traffic signals, so that when I go through an intersection with a green light, I assume that the cross traffic will stop at its red light. I have come up with four inferences that I will connect with the underlying assumption. The first situation giving by Foundations for Critical Thinking is a man lying in the gutter. The inference is that the man is in need of help and the assumption is anyone lying in the gutter is in need of help. The second situation is a woman in a wheelchair. The inference is she must have a sad life and the assumption is all people in wheelchairs have a sad life. Third situation is a police officer trails your car closely for several blocks. The inference is he is going to pull me over, and the assumption is whenever a police officer trails people he is going to pull them over. The fourth situation is if there are black clouds in the sky the inference would be that it is going to rain, and the assumption is that it usually rains when there are black clouds in the sky. Looking back at the four situation I feel like the proper inferences were situation one, situation three, and situation four. The improper inference would be situation two and
References: Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2011). The critical thinking community. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/.