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Presupposing



Conventionally, to presuppose is taken to mean to assume...as in taking something for granted in advance. As such it is a declaration about something which isn't actually known. However, critically understood, presupposing isn't a declaration of an assumption...but rather, a question about the grounds or conditions which create or give rise to whatever is being investigated.

Critically understood, to presuppose is to ask how we can make sense of something in terms of its development (history). As such, presupposing is a speculative "looking backwards" about what would have to be in order for us to understand what "is" (i.e. to call forth an antecedent or prior condition). This will often lead to multiple possibilities as to what gave rise to/produced (caused???) something...creating a web of causal factors to be evaluated.