Luke's Working Notes

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Evidence

Definition

Evidence

/ˈevədəns/

ʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ

: information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

// statistical, testimonial, anecdotal, analogical, textual

Summary

Using our cognitive toolkit, we acquire evidence that confirms or contradicts our beliefs or claims.

Outline of Topics

On evaluating evidence

On the importance of context (or missing context)

On methodological reductionism

On the danger of monocausal explanations

On grounds and inferences

On distilling the evidence from the social commentary

On resolving evidence that seems to conflict

On understanding the relationship between the accuracy and precision of evidence

On evaluating historical evidence

Examples

Statistical evidence: surveys, polls, experiments

Testimonial evidence: expert witness statements

Anecdotal evidence: personal experience or observations

Analogical evidence: comparisons with similar cases or situations

Textual evidence: quotes from written or spoken sources

Corroborative evidence: multiple types of evidence supporting the same conclusion

Contradictory evidence: evidence that contradicts a given claim or argument

Missing evidence: evidence that would be expected to exist but is absent

Cross-References

Evidence can support or contradict a Claim or Argument.