Beyond Feelings

106 PART TWO The Pitfalls
Remember that assumptions are usually implied rather than expressed
directly, much like the hidden premises in arguments. To identify them,
develop the habit of reading (and listening) between the lines for ideas that
are unexpressed but nevertheless clearly implied. Once you have identified
an assumption, evaluate it and decide whether it is warranted.
The Either/Or Outlook
The either/or outlook is the expectation that the only reasonable view of
any issue is either total affirmation or total rejection. Unfortunately, it is
not hard to find examples of this outlook, even in serious discussions.
David Hackett Fischer gives the following examples from actual book
titles: The Robber Barons—Pirates or Pioneers? The New Deal—Revolution or
Evolution? The Medieval Mind—Faith or Reason? What Is History—Fact or
Fancy? 2
The problem with the either/or outlook is that it rejects the very real
possibility that the most reasonable view may be both/and—in other
words, a less extreme view. Take, for example, the troubling issue of welfare
reform. One extreme position is to keep the present welfare system
just as it is. The opposite extreme is to eliminate the system entirely.
Might one of those views be correct? Absolutely. On the other hand, the
best solution might be neither to keep nor to abandon the old system but
to change it for the better.
Similarly, in the debate over school vouchers, the question is often
posed, “Should we improve public schools or give parents vouchers to
use in the schools of their choice?” It is not necessary to accept one of
these views and reject the other. It is possible to affirm both—in other
words, to increase the funding of public schools and allow parents to use
their children’s share of the money to choose the particular school, public
or private, they prefer.
Yet another example of either/or thinking has occurred in the discussion
of an even more recent controversy—why so many boys have
fallen behind girls academically in the past few decades. In a talk show
exchange, one professor argued that teachers, sensitive to feminist criticism,
have been giving more attention to girls than to boys. Another
rejected that explanation and blamed the excessive emphasis fathers
place on their sons’ involvement in sports. Each felt it necessary to
denounce the other’s view, but there was no need for that. The academic
problems of boys may be traceable to both those causes and perhaps to
several others as well.
Whenever you are examining an issue and find yourself considering
only two alternatives, ask yourself whether additional alternatives exist
and, if they do, give them a fair hearing.