We are always making assumptions — whether consciously or not — about the events that take place before us, or the people we meet or hear about.
Some of us admit that we make hundreds of assumptions per day, others do not. (Right now, on this very thread, I am making the assumption that at
least one other person will read this thread and take something out of it — hopefully I am correct.) Of course, there are different kinds of
assumptions which range from highly plausible (the sun rose today, I believe it will rise again tomorrow), to neutral (If I become thirsty, I'll
decide to drink water), to an assumption bordering on unlikely (I will lose my mobile phone today), to outright paranoid (all those people on the
train are thinking about ways to humiliate me).
Consider the following 10 statements:
1. "Joseph Stalin was a pacifist"
2. "Confucius was a moron"
3. "Mahatma Gandhi was a warlord"
4. "All lives matter"
5. "Big pharma only cares about profit"
6. "9/11 was an inside job"
7. "It's your God-given right to pray at school"
8. "Women are subordinate to men"
9. "Capitalism is the root of all evil"
10. "Women's lives are more valuable than men's"
What would you assume about a person making the above statements?
While all are controversial to a certain degree, some might register as somewhat truthful depending on your belief system, while others will seem
ignorant, idiotic and inflammatory. You might even assume the person is simply a bored troll and doesn't even believe what they are saying.
When it comes to analysing the statements of others, context is critical.It's impossible to completely refrain from making judgements/assumptions
about others, but we can choose to make plausible, probable and most importantly reasonable assumptions about others instead of hasty, reactionary and
narrow-minded ones.
Assume with care, but be mindful that complete objectivity is impossible and reasonable assumptions are necessary.
edit on 27/7/2016 by Dark Ghost because: (no reason given)