Presupposition Exercises

A presupposition is something presupposed by a person making a statement, asking a question, etc. If I say, "Please, shut the door," I am presupposing that the door is, or will be, open. If I ask, "What grade did you get on your psychology exam?" I am presupposing that you took a psychology exam. If I say, "I'll meet you tomorrow at Dayton's," I am presupposing that there is a place called Dayton's; that you know where it is, or can find out; that you have some interest in getting together with me tomorrow; that I can predict my future actions; that there will be a tomorrow; that time can be measured in such a way that particular moments can be picked out... and so on. We don't usually stop to think about our presuppositions, but sometimes we should. Sometimes the only way to deal with a question, for example, is to notice that it presupposes something false and so can't be answered. (“Have you stopped beating your wife?” is the classic example.) One function of philosophy is to uncover and evaluate our most basic presuppositions.

List what you think are some of the important presuppositions of the statements below. Write complete sentences. Make a note of any that you think are particularly questionable.

1) If you want to have an unforgettable experience, climb to the top of Mt. Rainier and look around you.

2) Fred couldn't have been very sick; he was playing tennis all afternoon.

3) I know Sue was at the party; I saw her with my own eyes.

4) There are both good and bad people in every ethnic group.

5) The best way to solve our environmental problems is for consumers to ‘vote with their dollars’ by buying environmentally friendly products.

6) The presidential election is not just a popularity contest; what is at stake is the power to affect the lives of millions of people here and abroad.

7) Anyone who really wants a job can get one -- just look at all the "help wanted" ads in the newspaper.

8) The U.S. was justified in resuming the production of chemical weapons in 1987, because it needed to keep pace with Soviet chemical weapons production.

9) We have reason to believe that George W. Bush failed to meet his obligations to the National Guard because there is no record of him appearing for duty between April and October of 1972.

10) We have reason to believe that George W. Bush met his obligations to the National Guard, because pay records show that he was paid for a sufficient number of drills.