presupposition
Tacit foundational belief
A presupposition is something assumed to be true before an argument or statement begins—the unstated foundation on which reasoning rests.
The question Have you stopped cheating? presupposes that you were cheating.
Much philosophical and linguistic work involves uncovering presuppositions that shape how questions get framed.
In everyday use, presupposition often implies an assumption that may be unwarranted: His presupposition that she'd agree proved wrong.
Foundation for logical argument
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
- postulationAssuming something as given
expectation · anticipation · taken-for-granted · preconception · given
Foundation for logical argument
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- antecedentSomething that precedes
- preconditionNecessary prior requirement
prerequisite · predicate · conditional · propositional · syllogism
Language-in-context study
- entailmentLogical necessity from premises
- triggerWhat initiates action
- projectionSomething that extends outward
- accommodationShelter or housing provided
anaphora · definiteness · cleft · utterance · assertion · proposition · semantic
Not openly expressed
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
- tacitUnderstood without words
- assumedTaken as true
- backgroundOne's formative experiences
underlying · hidden · covert · latent · unacknowledged · unquestioned · subtext · implication
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- preconceptionBelief formed beforehand
- predispositionInnate tendency toward something
- partialityUnfair favor toward some
- prejudgmentOpinion formed beforehand
premise
Foundation for logical argument
- presumptionBelief held without proof
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- conjectureGuess from limited facts
postulation · expectation · anticipation · taken-for-granted · preconception · given
premise
Foundation for logical argument
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
- postulateAssumed starting point
- antecedentSomething that precedes
precondition · prerequisite · predicate · conditional · propositional · syllogism
pragmatics
Language-in-context study
- entailmentLogical necessity from premises
- triggerWhat initiates action
- projectionSomething that extends outward
accommodation · anaphora · definiteness · cleft · utterance · assertion · proposition · semantic
unstated
Not openly expressed
background · underlying · hidden · covert · latent · unacknowledged · unquestioned · subtext · implication · inference
prejudice
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- preconceptionBelief formed beforehand
- predispositionInnate tendency toward something
- partialityUnfair favor toward some
prejudgment · stereotyping · presumptive · slant · ethnocentrism
- beliefsbelief, beliefs, creed, creeds, faith
- speculationconjecture, guess, guessing, speculation, hypothesis
- premisespremise, assumption, postulate, axiom, given
- semanticsmeaning, denotation, sense, connotation, reference
- JesuitsJesuits, Jesuit, Society of Jesus, Ignatius Loyola, Loyola
- pragmaticscontext, inference, locution, pragmatics, relevance
presuppositionconclusion
End or deduction
logical consequence · inference · deduction · corollary · outcome
presuppositiondisbelief
Rejection of truth claims
skepticism · doubt · questioning · interrogation · suspicion