To establish understanding, we must place ourselves firmly within the subject. To properly explain ideas to the reader, we must first explain them to ourselves. We explore the subject by way of thorough questioning, recognizing what we may already know. Understanding the essence of the subject – along with identifying the limitations of the research material we use to look inside the subject – allows us to confidently establish our ground within an idea. Limitations in either the research material or our understanding of the research material, provide new paths of inquiry.

Once we establish our ground, we can meaningfully transition in virtually any direction.

This approach to analysis gives us options. We can construct a conventional argument by introducing predictable ideas, or we can challenge these ideas, and by extension ourselves, by going in unexpected directions. In either case, we when the transition to a new viewpoint through research, we can go confidently in any direction because we know where we stand and we know our next immediate step.