Asserting knowledge

 Ways of asserting knowledge from assumption 

Personal Thoughts 

1. During analysis, check claim against every possible assumption in the context of the available evidence. If more than one assumptions are possible to correlate to the claim, then existing evidence is not enough. 

Socratic Questioning

1. Clarifying your thinking and explaining the origins of your ideas. (Why do I think this? What exactly do I think).

2.Challenging assumptions. (How do I know this is true? What if I thought the opposite?) 

3. Looking for evidence. (How can I back this up? What are the sources?) 

4. Considering alternative perspectives. (what might others think? How do I know I'm correct?)

5. Examining consequences and implications. (What if I am wrong? What are the consequences if I am?) 

6. Questioning the original questions. (why did I think that? Was I correct? What conclusions can I draw from the reasoning process?)

The 5 Whys

Keep asking why till you hit a falsifiable statement. 

A falsifiable statement is a statement that has proper conditioning such that it can be considered wrong if those conditions are not met. Eg. There are no extraterrestrial life forms. This can be proven false if extraterrestrial life is discovered.

Example of non falsifiable statement - God exists or God doesn't exist. Falsifying either would require to prove the existence or non existence of God which is impossible.