Problem Identification is the first step of problem solving. In life, personal problems are often complicated by outside challenges. In literature, these forces are called external conflicts. The external conflict may be man challenged by nature, man embattled by society, or one man opposed by another man. In science, problems are often exclusively matters of a physical nature and the external conflict is man being challenged by nature.
Internal conflicts have a personal nature. By comparing personal internal conflicts to Aristotle's structure for dramas, these conflicts can often be recognized. Aristotle's drama structure divided the play into five acts with a hero, a villain, an external conflict and climax, and an emotional cleansing involving an internal conflict. Real life internal conflicts often involve character traits and values that are easily identified by this method.[5] (Character traits and values are discussed in the section on interpersonal relationships.)
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FACT GATHERING IN PROBLEM SOLVING.
The preferred order for gather facts is based on the order of reliability: library research, asking someone knowledgeable, and brainstorming.
Facts should be tested for logic, emotional fallacies, and the credibility of "expert" witnesses. Facts gained from research in a library are easiest to verify, and other methods of gathering facts must often be re-verified through library research. Logical and emotional weaknesses of arguments can often be recognized by the use of certain fallacy recognition checklists.[6] The most widely used of the fallacies is the over or under generalization: everyone (all, without exception, none, never, no one) rode a bicycle when only two years old. [7]
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The more common persuasive fallacies are: