Presuppositions: Let's suppose I'm Right

After recent discussion with some people, it has come to light that people don't seem to understand presuppositions.  This becomes an issue when in a discussion with somebody, when sharing a view, or in a debate.  So because of this I decided it would be good to write a brief article about presuppositions.

What is a presupposition? It is to pre-suppose a certain idea to be true (or more technically, an implicit assumption).  It's not a bad thing, and often times not a conscious thing, but it can be a hindrance when trying to share with others.  A presupposition can lead to a belief that you suppose to be fact, but in reality it is just a belief.  We could even call them simple beliefs or basic assumptions.  With any discussion there needs to be some agreement otherwise there can't even be a discussion.  (Often times in debates I feel like no progress is made because there are too many presuppositions involved that one party takes for granted while the other party tries to expose them.)

Alright, so that explains the essence of them, but let me provide an example.  When somebody says something like, “Well I was there and I saw it, so I do know.”  This simple statement assumes a lot.

It presupposes there is such a thing as knowing.

It presupposes perception can be trusted.

It presupposes that you have a mind.

It presupposes that there is reality.

It presupposes that the whole world is not in your head.

You could keep listing out a bunch of presuppositions for this one statement.  As you can see, a simple statement ASSUMES A LOT.  Now, people might say, “Well, you have to assume those things otherwise you're just unreasonable.”  But that statement, in itself, assumes - it assumes there is something that is reason (or rational might be a better word) and it assumes we all share it.  This doesn't make the statements above any less true, it just shows we have to assume certain things in our communication.  We might not even realize we are assuming these things.  The other important note is that even though we find most of these statements true by default, some philosophers or want-to-be philosophers don't find all the above statements true.  So even though we assume that things are basic and accepted, it doesn't mean we are correct in that assumption - some people do not accept these basic assumptions.  I truly believe the people opposed are wasting their time because at some point you have to assume something in order to communicate with others, but nevertheless I need to be aware of the person's presuppositions in order to effectively communicate with them.  Something like solipsism makes it impossible to progress a conversation, so knowing the person is a solipsist would save you a massive headache later.  

Nevertheless the point remains that we assume so much when we make statements that sometimes it is our presuppositions that are actually blocking discussion.  A religious person and an atheist cannot debate science unless they agree on the presuppositions involved.  Without such agreement, an argument can't even begin to develop because people will just keep expressing beliefs and never realize the other person is disagreeing because they don't even agree with the things being presupposed. 

This topic comes up because of a recent debate I had.  To the other individual I was simply playing games because I kept pointing out that he was simply stating a belief, not a fact.  Now, the point isn't about him, but that it completely blocked communication because an argument could not even be made because there was no agreement on the presuppositions.  Rather than produce a fruitful debate where people can learn, it ends up going nowhere because people don't realize how much they assume about their position.  I can honestly say most debates make no progress and run in circles because of a lack of understanding of what each person assumes to be true when they begin.

Understanding presuppositions is really simple.  Seeing what somebody is assuming when a statement is made, doesn't always seem to be.  I find that in life, work, or debate people often don't understand the weight carried by simple statements. 

Government Scandals and Complacent Citizens

The past few weeks have revealed several scandals that are making their way through government right now.  What's astonishing is the complete lack of liberal attention.  One would think that when the government starts to abuse its power to intimidate and harass people of a certain view (the IRS scandal) that would be enough to make people doubt government.  With the release of the information about the government being involved in huge amounts of data mining on U.S. citizens living within the U.S. people should have erupted in an uproar, but they haven't.  Obama said it's about protecting the citizens from terrorists, but with how the abuse of power within the IRS came, I personally wonder what Obama’s idea of a terrorist is.  After all, this is the same president that refused to call radical Islamic extremists, terrorists.

Unfortunately, the lack of an uproar around these scandals shows the effectiveness of liberal brainwashing.  The schools have made people believe in government, the media has defended government at every turn, and the movies (and their pathetically crazy stars) all spread liberal ideals.  When government turns on the people, the people sit still because somehow they believe the lies in spite of the obvious evidence to the contrary, it shows that slowly the liberal message has began to penetrate deep into the lives of Americans.  Even if you could possibly rationalize and somehow show logically that current power grabs and oppression of government are perfectly fine, do you think you could make the next leap to say that after they've gone this far they won't go any further?  Where people fail to be outraged the government will press forward.  Governments ALWAYS try to increase their power and maintain their power, and when people don't demand the government to abide by their terms, the government will demand the people to abide by the government's terms. 

Complacency is a real threat to the American people.  By the time government pushes to an extent that outrages ALL the people, it will be too late to stop the government.  Liberals need to wake up! These aren’t just attacks on conservatives; these are advances on all Americans.   Unfortunately the Christians in this country won’t react unless it directly impacts them and their reactions will be minimal because they’ve bought the liberal lies that Christianity should not be part of government.  The liberals won’t react because they believe in government and love taking away from others to give to themselves.  Conservatives will react but with only a minimal reaction because of the divide in beliefs – where some so called conservatives have believed the liberal lies and really are doubting conservativism, others are trying to appeal to the liberals for fear of being ostracized, and therefore the few that speak out will be drowned out as extremists. 

Obama and his administration are dirty and oppressive.  They've attacked the rights of Americans and expanded the power of government.  Astonishingly, they are the people that have released the documents showing what they're doing (mostly to push other scandals out of American minds) AND yet people still somehow believe the liar.  Obama’s entire administration and the liberals in the senate (I include worthless John McCain as a liberal and his fellow worthless democrats with a republican tag) need to be cast out.  The IRS should be shut down permanently and we should begin a path of a true republic.

In one sense, this all sounds extreme.  It seems like an overreaction of sorts, but then I realize what is taking place and how silence is looked at as acceptance.  With that in view, understanding that government agencies are striking out to silence conservative groups through the IRS and that the same government was trying to get names and addresses of people with views against liberalism (and that were supporting these conservative ideals with donations), I know this government has stretched too far.  Take into account the retrieval of phone records, the collection of all data related to the internet usage of American citizens, and the looking to expand toward drone usage on American citizens living in the United States if the government deems them a terrorist, and I think the view becomes a little less extreme.  Maybe it isn't full blown big brother at this moment, but if we don't try to protect our privacy and freedoms now, it will not be long before it is.

Conservatives need to be intelligent and act on THEIR ideals instead of acting in a manner in which they think the liberals will approve or at least give the least resistance.  There shouldn't even need to be a debate about big government and how dangerous it is at this point, given the recent events, but people remain unconvinced.  I believe it's time to sound extreme, but at the same time we need to educate people on our view so they realize how down to earth and relevant it truly is.  If people are shocked, that is fine, but if we don't speak out and we don't try to educate the American people that is unacceptable.  I fear America will give up due to complacency and ignorance, but I hope Americans can still rise up like they have in the past and show what makes this country great – and prove me wrong.

Caricatures of Belief: Immature Beliefs Guiding "Mature" People

After a long vacation for Memorial Day weekend, I'm now back and ready to write again.  Over the weekend I listened to some Catholic radio talk shows (I know, boring right? It was a long drive and it wasn't actually a bad station) and it made me think about the difference between the image that comes to mind and the reality of the entity.  You see, so many of us have been raised with stories and even teachings about different ideas or theories, but so few of us ever actually investigate them.  This is true of atheists, Christians, villagers in a third world country, or basically any culture and society.  Certain ideas are passed down and images painted of a view that effectively distorts our ability to communicate with somebody from that way of thinking.  It's very apparent in the Catholic and Protestant circles.  Images of Catholics often involve people worshiping Mary and nuns smacking kids with rulers.  Now, these images and many others have been ingrained in the Protestant to a point that makes it very difficult to overcome and actually have communication.

If a Protestant hears a Catholic mention Jesus for some reason they are shocked and act as if somehow that Catholic has moved toward Protestantism by simply discussing Jesus.  The images formed from stories from long ago, some probably completely based on nothing but fairy tales and others maybe loosely on some incidents that became much bigger in the telling than they were in reality, have so overcome the mind of the Protestant that communication is a barrier.  I will say that this goes both ways though, as recent conversations with Catholics have shown that often what they believe of Protestants is not what Protestants (in general – if there is such a thing anymore for Protestantism) believe. 

Now, I'm not sure if there are other ways to break through these false beliefs that hinder communication, but I know what helped me.  For me, it was a matter of continually asking “why” until the answers began to surface and more questions that needed answers came with them.  Continually seeking out answers led to a deeper understanding of the reality of Catholicism versus the distorted caricature that I knew as Catholicism.   Now I probably haven't overcome all of the misconstrued stories surrounding Catholicism, so I'm not the perfect example of openness.  I have however spent a lot of time discussing beliefs with Catholics and asked many probing questions to get beyond the barriers that hinder us from communicating and finding the reality of the belief system.  Unfortunately, most people will probably not seek answers due to the whole stigma about intelligence and rational thought that permeates Protestant churches (see my other article here).

When you look out at the world around you, you will notice these caricatures everywhere.  The liberal media has done it effectively with conservatives.  Even conservatives turn on conservatives buying into the lies painted by the liberals.  Catholics do it to Protestants, lumping everybody into the one big Protestant lunatic bin.  Because of the prevalence of these falsities breaking through these distortions is a difficult task.  It is possible but it ONLY happens when people decide to ask questions of their OWN beliefs first.  A liberal will not be convinced by a conservative until a liberal asks the hard questions of LIBERALISM and then the lies they've been told of conservatism will be exposed.  The strongest Catholics I know are those who have questioned Catholicism, put it to the test (and some even embraced Protestantism for a period of time) and then after much investigation understood Catholicism on a deeper and more intimate level than ever before.  Most people will not take that step however; they will always scrutinize the other view and never investigate their own.  Perhaps this has to do with world views.  Maybe it's the idea that you have to be intelligent to understand answers to questions.  Or maybe, it's a fear from exposing oneself to the harshest critics and reality that comes from being the person to scrape your own beliefs across the coals.  Whatever the answer, it will take more than accepting the images as reality to communicate effectively.