The FAITH model of analysis

Excerpt from The Rational Restoration, Chapter 5.

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I propose the FAITH model to achieve clarity, charity and understanding.

 

F – Facts (demonstrable, objective facts everyone can agree upon)

A – Assumptions (what we assume about those facts, given our worldview, often treated as facts)

I – Inferences, interpretations (how we fill gaps and place the facts into a comfortable context)

T – Theory (overall explanation of the facts)

H – Hypothesis (a narrative basis for further investigation)

 

The optimum outcome of the FAITH analysis is a set of multiple working hypotheses, all based on the same facts, that people can assess for themselves by tracing back upriver from the hypotheses to the facts through the network of inferences and assumptions. While enabling us to make informed decisions, the analysis also hopes to help us understand how and why others reach different conclusions.

 

Figure 1 - The FAITH model

We usually see that the end result—the hypothesis—correlates to the initial assumptions. The hypothesis is driven not by facts, but by assumptions, inferences, and theories.

This surprises many people because we all like to think our opinions are based on facts.

But once we use the FAITH model to separate actual facts from the other elements of our thought process, we can all see that what we may think is obvious is merely confirmation bias.