It's interesting that when you think about it, we use these sources as evidence all the time, but we never really think of those sources as 'evidence'. Somehow, the word has gained a more scientific meaning.
You can't say that any of these types of evidence is superior in any situation since they all apply to different things. For example, if someone tells me some day-to-day information, like there's no school tomorrow, I'm not going to carry out my own scientific investigation.
But at the same time we can say that what evidence counts for what changes over time. In the middle ages, the Bible and some of Aristotle's writings were the definitive word on science instead of experimentation. So really, how do we decide what evidence counts for what?
EXACTLY! During our next meeting, I'm going to be asking people what they expect from other people's evidence... and even more critically, what we as a club can expect from each member when they offer us 'evidence' in support of their perspectives/arguements.
3 comments:
Here are some forms of 'evidence' I noticed in Horton Hears a Who:
empirical (five senses)
opinion
rumor
hearsay
suspicions
traditions
reasoning/logic
heredity/genetics
science
belief
emotion (manic)
personal connections/relationships
expertise
advice
testimony
motives
intentions
politics
perceived dangers
accusations
prejudices
warnings
personal injury
disaster
pain
predictions
leader’s wisdom
…and of course…
“Blunking on a blunker”
It's interesting that when you think about it, we use these sources as evidence all the time, but we never really think of those sources as 'evidence'. Somehow, the word has gained a more scientific meaning.
You can't say that any of these types of evidence is superior in any situation since they all apply to different things. For example, if someone tells me some day-to-day information, like there's no school tomorrow, I'm not going to carry out my own scientific investigation.
But at the same time we can say that what evidence counts for what changes over time. In the middle ages, the Bible and some of Aristotle's writings were the definitive word on science instead of experimentation. So really, how do we decide what evidence counts for what?
EXACTLY! During our next meeting, I'm going to be asking people what they expect from other people's evidence... and even more critically, what we as a club can expect from each member when they offer us 'evidence' in support of their perspectives/arguements.
A tall order!
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