Analysis of Inferences and Assumptions: A Homework Assignment for We the

People
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both strongly believed that the continued viability
of a republic depends on an educated and virtuous citizenry. Public education and
even the practice of some of the professional schools (e.g., medicine and law) since
at least the early twentieth century to require a degree in another school (e.g.
Liberal Arts and Sciences) before being admitted to the undergraduate program
(i.e., the M.D. and J.D. or LLB, respectively). This lateral move is unique to the U.S.;
entering medical and law students in the E.U. need not already have a college
degree. I submit that the Founding Fathers firm political belief in the importance of
an educated electorate concerns the value of not only having a broad array of
knowledge, but also reason being able to assess its own inferences, or assumptions;
for inferences, or leaps of reason, go into political judgments. Ultimately, voters
make judgements, whether concerning the worthiness of candidates on a ballot,
their policies, or proposals on a referendum. To the extent that subjecting
assumptions to the stress test of reasoning is not a salient part of secondary
education, an electorate is likely to make sub-optimal judgements, resulting in
suboptimal elected officials, public policies, and laws.
The full essay is at A Homework Assignment for We the People.