PHI 1101 Chapter 4: Reading #4 Critically

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Sascha Maicher

Document Summary

The two main arenas in which we asses credibility. First we ask how likely is it that this claim is true? (probability) , comparing it to your known knowledge, it become less credible if the claim goes against our previous knowledge (all depends on how much you know) Our beliefs, hopes, fears and expectations affect our observations. Our personal interests and biases affect our perceptions ad the judgments we base on them. The reliability of our observations is no better than the reliability of our memories. You compare it to your background information. Background information: that immense body of justified beliefs that consists of facts we learn from our own direct observations and facts we learn from others. Info is considered background when we might not be able to specify where we learned it. We being assessing claim by initial plausibility: a rough assessment of how credible a claim seems to us.