"Inferring is when you decide that an unstated claim is the conclusion. And implying is when someone leaves a conclusion unsaid." (Epstein, p.74)
For example: Suppose a teacher says in math class, "All of my best students go to workshops for extra credit." The teacher hasn't actually said you should in extra work. But you infer that she has implied "If you want to do well in this class, you'd better go to workshops for extra credit."
Implying and inferring could be risky because of you complain to the department head that your teacher is demanding more than she asked on the syllabus, your teacher could reply that you just inferred incorrectly. The teacher might say, "I've observed that my best students do extra-credit work - that's all I was saying. I had no intention of making an argument." You, however, could say that in the context in which she made the remark it was fairly obvious she was implying that if you wanted her to believe you are a good student, you should go to workshops.
This example is really the same as the example from the book. (Epstein, p.74)
Inferring and implying sentences are said often. Infer and imply are sometimes confused. Inferring is when someone believes an unstated claim is the conclusion. Inferring is done by a reader or an interpreter by drawing conclusions that were not said by the writer. To imply means that something is suggested without being stated outright. In my opinion imply is the same as indirect statements. Like someone could say to someone else saying, "you shouldn't eat so much", and they could imply that they are overweight. It can also be considered an indirect statement saying they are obese so they should not eat soo much without actually calling that person fat.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time I never really thought about the fact that I infer a lot of decision when the conclusion of a claim is unstated. I just always assumed that since I inferred it, then the argument was a good argument because they made me infer that. You also brought it to my attention that inferring and implying can be very risky arguing tactics because different people can infer different things from the same claim. A single claim can be taken in so many different ways that it is much better for everybody to be very clear and specific about their argument.
ReplyDelete