SOAN 2120 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Descriptive Statistics, Scientific Method, General Idea

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology and Anthropology
• Course: SOAN 2120
• Professor: David Walters

Document Summary

When you accept something as true because someone in a position of authority says it is true you are relying on authority as a basis for knowledge . Pros: quick, simple and cheap way of learning something. Cons: easy to overestimate the expertise of other people, authorities may not agree, and all authorities may not be equally dependable, authorities may speak on fields they know little about or to be wrong, misuse of authority. Tradition special case of authority authority of the past. Accept it as true it"s the way things have always been . Allows logical fallacies to slip into thinking common sense can originate in tradition. Primary goal of tv show writers is to entertain, not present reality. Media hype can create a feeling a major problem exists when it doesn"t. Visual images have a powerful effect on people. Personal experience if you see something or experience it, you accept it as true seeing is believing .