Assumptions and Fallacies Essay

†¢ What are assumptions? How do you think assumptions might interfere with critical thinking? What might you do to avoid making assumptions in your thinking? Assumption is an idea one believes to be true based on prior experience or one’s belief systems. (Elder & Paul, 2002) Assumptions are a part of our belief system but we don’t know that they are true or not. Assumptions are a vital part of our critical thinking. If we used assumptions all the time then we would not be able to use critical thinking. It doesn’t matter where we are at, it is imperative to know all the facts prior to drawing any kind of conclusion or it becomes an assumption. It may be difficult at times to utilize critical thinking but by keeping an open minded aspect will help to prevent assumptions. There is nothing worse than making an assumption and then to be confronted by someone who has all the facts can shatter your confidence. You can avoid this by researching all the facts and utilizing your critical thinking abilities to cover every corner and aspect of your idea or topic. This is the key to keep from making assumptions. †¢ What are fallacies? How are fallacies used in written, oral, and visual arguments? What might you do to avoid fallacies in your thinking? Fallacies are deceptive or misleading arguments that are untrue or unreliable. Fallacies are mainly used to help support a person’s argument when they can’t find factual evidence to back up their statements. Fallacies can be used in many different ways. They are used on purpose in fictional writing and magazines like People. Fallacies can be orally used by someone when they are telling a firsthand story but are only versed in their side so it may come off as unintentional. I see fallacies being mostly used visually popliteal ads and propaganda media campaigns. They get away with most of these fallacies because the amount of time it takes to research the truth usually takes too long before the psychological damage is already done on the public. People tend to trust what others say unless they have found previous fallacies in their statements. I avoid believing fallacies by being conservative in my thoughts. If I see something that I might consider to be fallacious by my past experiences then I do the research to find out the facts. Fallacies and assumptions hold the same key as research will reveal them all.