Identifying Implicit Reasons/Warrants/Assumptions
Drake Monsters
Reasons are the meat and
potatoes of any given argument, and outlining them carefully and clearly is
the most effective means to turning all the theoretical stuff above into
useful information. It also makes it possible to easily organize and write
an essay.
1) Explicit Reasons: In literary
analysis, these are usually (but not necessarily), found in
the text itself: What evidence exists that
certain things did or did not happen or are or are not true? What evidence
exists that characters did or believed certain things?
2) Implicit Reasons: Normally found in key Assumptions and Context:
when, where and why who does what.
For example, the Argument "Grendel is guilty of monstrosity because he killed innocent people." Contains both the Claim and an Explicit Reason, but it also Implies another Reason or two:
Claim:
"Grendel is guilty of monstrosity"
Explicit Reason: because "he killed innocent people"
Implicit Reason: "the people Grendel killed were innocent"
Implicit Reason: "killing innocent people constitutes monstrosity"
Implicit Reason: "killing innocent people constitutes monstrosity within a given context"
So, to prove our argument we would need to find evidence supporting both the Explicit and Implicit Reasons.
Proving the Explicit Reason will be easy, and can be done with
references to facts, but proving the three Implicit Reasons will get
messy and will require context. Note also how each Implicit Reason will
generate its own argument. In what context should we judge Grendel:
Viking, Anglo Saxon, Existential, Modern...??
To Find Explicit and Implicit Reasons, follow this formula:
1) State the source’s Claim/Thesis as accurately and clearly as possible; whenever possible, try to do so quoting the author’s own language (in literature, using spoken by a key character). For the purposes of this method, there is only one claim in an argument.
Claim Example “Grendel is guilty of crimes of monstrosity.”
2) Locate and summarize the Explicit Reasons (ERs); state the ER as if it followed the Claim and the word “because”. Again, whenever possible, do so using direct quotes.
Explicit Reason Example “…because he kills many thanes.”
Explicit Reason Example “…because he kills innocent people.”
3) Locate the Implicit Reasons (IRs) for each Explicit Reason. This will do a combination of two things: it will state/clarify/make obvious the logical principles that connect the Explicit Reason to the Claim, and in so doing it will usually state/clarify/make obvious the cultural principles or values that connect the Explicit Reason to the Claim.
To find the IR: write an “IF the IR (is true), THEN Claim (is true)” sentence. You may need or want to broaden the Explicit Reason to state a general value or rule. But be careful to state the line of reasoning as charitably and accurately as possible. Try, as much as possible, to use the same terms/wording used in the Claim and ER or you will quite likely mis-state the argument.
Implicit Reason Example:
“IF someone or something kills many thanes, THEN that someone or something is guilty of a crime of monstrosity”
or, without the “IF, THEN” formula, the Implicit Reason could also read:
“Killing many thanes is a crime of monstrosity”.
4) Now, for each ER, you will need two sets of information: a) evidence that the Explicit Reason is true and b) evidence that the Implicit Reason is true:
a) Locating evidence the ER is true is usually a matter of locating quotations and/or factual information. For our example, you simply need to prove that Grendel indeed killed many thanes; thus, locate and point toward all the times Grendel killed thanes. You could even make this a factual claim by quantifying/counting how many he killed.
b) Locating evidence the IR is true can be trickier, as the IR is usually implied in the overall context the source speaks to. In literature, that context exists both inside and outside of the text.
i) Inside the text: look to the Dramatic Elements: Plot, Character, Setting, Style, Symbolism
ii) Outside of the text: look to the context the text was written AND/OR refers; research Viking culture, Anglo-Saxon Culture, Sartre and Existentialism, Existentialism Is A Humanism etc. Reference key cultural texts related to the source (ex: the Bible, the Constitution etc.)
iii) Look to the same author’s other works, letters, speeches etc.; look into the broader significance of the symbols used in the text (for example the Dragon).
Note that this process may reveal flaws and inconsistencies in the source’s argument. You may find, for example, that locating the Implicit Reason disproves the argument. For example, above: 4bi seems to disprove our argument “Grendel is a monster because he kills many thanes.”
Other Related Notes:
Critical Thinking and Grendel's Guilt
Critical Thinking and Monstrosity