Fallacies of Presumption
This fallacy involves a presumption based on a false disjunctive claim that oversimplifies reality by excluding viable alternatives. It is often based on the presumption of either-or, i.e. either you are with us, or with the enemy. Hence, if person A criticises some aspects of capitalism, he is branded as a communist. Similarly, if a person criticises some aspects of religion, he is branded an atheist who hates people who believe in God. Similarly, if you criticise a political ideology, you are branded as the spokesman of the opposite ideology.
Most people are emotional, and emotions lead us to the binary perspectives of the world. They divide everything into good or evil, love or hate, right or wrong. On the contrary, rational people can analyze things critically and understand both the positive and negative sides of an issue, person or policy. Former American president Abraham Lincoln wisely said, “There are few things wholly evil or wholly good. Almost everything, especially governmental policy, is an inseparable compound of the two; so our best judgement of the preponderance between them is continually demanded. ” Hence, just because anything contains something bad, it is wrong to say that it does not have a good side, and vice versa. Even the same thing or a person can be good or bad at different times. As the saying goes, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
Critical thinkers must keep an open mind and update their knowledge regularly when they come across new information, encounter a new fact or undergo a new experience. John Maynard Keynes, an English economist and philosopher whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics and the economic policies of governments, emphasised the importance of keeping an open mind, “When the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do, sir?”
However, in the real world, we become suspects when we change our views. The presumption fallacy quickly comes into the picture when someone changes his beliefs. For example, if I have been supporting a political party X in the past, but after finding out some new facts about the party’s leaders and due to some policies I don’t agree with, I criticise the political party X or support its opponent Y. Most people, instead of arguing the merit of the argument often makes many presumptions without any basis to cloud the arguments.
- How much have you been paid to make this argument?
- Are you going to contest the election from Party Y?
How to avoid the fallacy of presumption
Most people are close-minded and prefer not to accept contrarian opinions about their deeply held beliefs. Even when they come across one, they dismiss them as false. Hence, they continue to have the same beliefs. Therefore, when someone changes their opinion on any issue, they are always sceptical about their intention and find a motive for the change of stance.
While it is important to be flexible and open-minded, it is also important to build credibility, as most people accept your arguments only if they trust you. Therefore, think a hundred times before firming up your views, but once you form your views, don’t change views without adequate and justifiable reasons. It is more common for people to change their stand due to pressure or temptation than due to open-mindedness. Hence, people are sceptical about every person who frequently changes their views and doesn’t accept their arguments easily.
We see the world as we are and not what it is. Hence, to see the reality, we have to change ourselves. As listeners, we must understand that our world is not black and white, and our options can’t be divided into either/or category. We must control our emotions while discussing an issue since emotions are binary and colour our vision. Only a rational person can analyse all the perspectives and see the reality as it is. Hence, avoid presumptions based on limited perspective and understand and appreciate the composite multicoloured world.
