PHILOSOPHICAL ASPECTS OF SCIENCE

 PHILOSOPHICAL LEARNING AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

What is philosophy? The word philosophy is come from ancient Greek word " Philosophia ". The word can explain as 'Philo" means love and 'Sophia' means wisdom. we can say the meaning of the word philosophy is love of wisdom. Further, Philosophy is the study fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, reasons, values, and existence. And also, it is a way of thinking about various subjects such as meaning, ethics, thought, value and time.

Scientific investigation helps us think outside the box to understand the natural world. Scientific investigation can be done by: Engaging in science-oriented questions that challenge thinking. Giving priority to evidence when responding to questions. Scientific investigation generally aims to obtain knowledge in the form of testable explanations that scientists can use to predict the results of future experiments.

Different between science and philosophy

Science is about empirical knowledge. philosophy is ​also about a priori knowledge. Science is about descriptive fact’s philosophy is also about normative truths. Science is about physical object’s philosophy is also about abstract objects.

philosophy is also about prior knowledge and science is about descriptive facts. philosophy is also about normative truths and science is about objects.

Learning is a complicated task. Learning to focus on a subject, to explain its theories, to understand, to question what is in it, to solve problems, to remember what is learned, to put it into practice. And it is the acquisition and mastery of what is already known by an individual. And its the extension and clarification of meaning of an individual experience.

PHILOSOPHICAL METHOD

Philosophical Method is simply, the study of the way to do philosophy. This method used by philosophers involving such elements as,

• Questioning
• Critical discussion
• Rational argumentations 
• Systemic presentation 

There is not a just one method to answer philosophical question because the answer is depending on the way of thinking.

VALUE OF PHILOSOPHY

like every different study, goals in general at knowledge. The knowledge it goals it is the type of knowledge which offers unity and system to the frame of the sciences, and the sort which ends up from a critical exam of the grounds of our convictions, prejudices, and beliefs.

Invention

An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition or process. The invention process is a process within an overall engineering and product development process. It may be an improvement upon a machine or product or a new process for creating an object or a result.

Scientific investigation is a plan for asking questions and testing possible answers. A scientific investigation typically begins with observations. A hypothesis is a possible logical answer to a scientific question, based on scientific knowledge.

According to Invention I think this have two sides one is good Invention and Worst Invention. Good Invention we use for day-to-day life and they easy our works but Worst Invention destroy our things. Some of examples are,

•   Weapons
•   Trees cutting machines
•   Smoking Device

Scientific statement

A scientific statement is one that could possibly be proven wrong. Such a statement is said to be falsifiable. However, a falsifiable statement always remains tentative and open to the possibility that it is wrong. “The sun revolves around the earth” is a scientific statement.

Most of statements are wrong when the new statement comes. Ancient times some are sad earth is flat after development of technology we knows, Earth is round therefore we cannot believe always scientific statement are right.

Scientific testing

Scientific testing involves figuring out what we would expect to observe if an idea were correct and comparing that expectation to what we actually observe. On the other hand, an invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition or process.

THEORIES

The definition of a theory is an idea to explain something, or a set of guiding principles. Einstein's ideas about relativity are an example of the theory of relativity. The scientific principles of evolution that are used to explain human life are an example of the theory of evolution. Some of examples are,

•    Big Bang Theory.
•    Atomic Theory
•    Quantum Field Theory.

My opinion is theory are same to the scientific statement. If we prove some statement it can be get as theory.

OBSERVATIONS

The definition of an observation is the act of noticing something or a judgment or inference from something seen or experienced. An example of observation is the watching of Haley's Comet. An example of observation is making the statement that a teacher is proficient from watching him teach several times.

I think observation is the important part of the Scientific investigation. Every scientific statement and Scientific testing all are start with observation.

HYPOTHESIS

A hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. It describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in your study. For examples If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you will do better on tests than if you get less sleep. If you drop a ball, it will fall toward the ground. If you drink coffee before going to bed, then it will take longer to fall asleep.

Hypothesis is an assumption that is made on the basis of some evidence. This is the initial point of any investigation that translates the research questions into a prediction. It includes components like variables, population and the relation between the variables. A research hypothesis is a hypothesis that is used to test the relationship between two or more variables.

If we have some problems or misunderstanding situation, we can make hypothesis and finding what happen after getting conclusions we can clearly understand problems.

Basic steps in testing a hypothesis

• Making assumptions
• Stating the research and null hypotheses and selecting (setting) alpha
• Selecting the sampling distribution and specifying the test statistic
• Computing the test statistic
• Making a decision and interpreting the results

REAL WORLD HYPOTHESIS TESTING EXAMPLES

Spontaneous generation

Spontaneous generation is a body of thought on the ordinary formation of living organisms without descent from similar organisms. The theory of spontaneous generation held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular.

After testing the hypothesis, they can figure it out life not arise from non-living things.

I wish that now you can know the how philosophical learning and scientific investigation, important is it. Also, we can clear the misunderstanding people and society according to the hypothesis. Main use of it is we can know the how to solve problems day to day life using basic steps in testing a hypothesis. Using this blogger and we can know lot of knowledge and understanding different perspective and the study of the different types of problem-solving methods. 

Scientific inquiry and Hypothesis Testing

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY STARTS WITH OBSERVATION. THE MORE ONE CAN SEE, THE MORE ONE CAN INVESTIGATE

Test may be called as a tool, a question, set of questions, and an examination which use to measure a particular characteristics of an individuals. Investigation, examination, inquiry, research express the idea of an active effort to find out something. But a test is a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something it's like a trail or experiment. By this article I would like to present about simple discussion about scientific inquiry, reasoning and hypothesis testing. 

Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work.

Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world. 

WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY?

Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work.

Models of scientific inquiry have two functions. First, to provide a descriptive account of how scientific inquiry is carried out in practice, and second, to provide an explanatory account of why scientific inquiry succeeds as well as it appears to do in arriving at genuine knowledge. 

REASONING

Reasoning is the process of thinking about something in a logical way in order to form a conclusion or judgment. The ability of the mind to think and understand things in a logical way.

Inductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning, or inductive logic, is a type of reasoning that involves drawing a general conclusion from a set of specific observations. Some people think of inductive reasoning as “bottom-up” logic, because it involves widening specific premises out into broader generalizations.

Deductive Reasoning

Deductive reasoning, also deductive logic, is the process of reasoning from one or more statements to reach a logical conclusion. Deductive reasoning goes in the same direction as that of the conditionals, and links premises with conclusions.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories.

Hypothesis is a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.  A hypothesis is when you suppose something to be true before you know whether it is or not so that you can test it to see if it's true. 

IS THAT EARTH FLAT OR SPHERICAL?

Members of the Flat Earth Society claim to believe the Earth is flat. Walking around on the planet's surface, it looks and feels flat, so they deem all evidence to the contrary, such as satellite photos of Earth as a sphere, to be fabrications of a "round Earth conspiracy" orchestrated by NASA and other government agencies.

Without being in the sky, it is impossible to see the curvature of the Earth. However, you can always see a demonstration of this if you visit a harbor or any place with a wide-open view of the water. If you are able to watch a ship sail off to sea, watch its mast and flag as it fades off into the distance. You will notice that, in fact, it does not "fade off into the distance" at all; instead, you will see its mast and flag appear to slowly sink. The ship sailed beyond the point at which you would see it. 

It's as if you're watching it go over to the other side of a hill. This phenomenon can only be explained by a sphere-shaped planet.

Hypothesis testing is used to assess the plausibility of a hypothesis by using sample data. The test provides evidence concerning the plausibility of the hypothesis, given the data.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com

SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION

 EVERYTHING IS THEORETICALLY IMPOSSIBLE, UNTIL IT IS DONE.

Thousands of years ago, our explanations about how the world worked were not very good. Things we couldn't understand were attributed to praise or vengeance from gods, or thinking the world was random. Thanks to science, we have a much better idea about why things are the way they are. By this article I would like to present about simple discussion about scientific explanation and examples. 

Science is about empirical knowledge. Philosophy is also about a priori knowledge. Science is about descriptive facts, philosophy is also about normative truths. Science is about physical objects, philosophy is also about abstract objects. Science always depends on observations but we can see the science through philosophy, we build questions, find evidences and become to decisions.

In short Science is about empirical knowledge; philosophy is also about a priori knowledge.

WHAT IS SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION?

Scientific explanation is a reason for something on the principles of science. Most time scientific explanation uses observations and measurements to explain something people see in the natural world. A scientific explanation is a way of explaining something we see in the natural world that's based on observations and measurements. We evaluate scientific explanations by comparing it to the current evidence and looking at what predictions it makes about the world. 

A scientific explanation is a way of explaining something we see in the natural world that's based on observations and measurements.

EXPLANATION AND CONFIRMATION?

Explanation is a statement or account that makes something clear. 

A statement made to clarify something and make it understandable.

Conformation is the shape or structure of something, especially an animal. Confirmation is verification or final proof of something. Confirmation involves providing reasons to believe that (or evidence that) certain claims (specifically, scientific theories) are true an explanation is that which is being explained, and the explanting of an explanation is that which does the explaining. Confirmation Involves providing reasons to believe that certain claims (specifically, scientific theories) are true. Explanation involves answering questions like “Why (or how) is it the case that X?, where “X” is assumed to be true (in the context C in which the question is asked). Mainly explanation involves answering questions, but confirmation involves providing reasons to believe that certain claims. In contemporary philosophy, confirmation theory can be roughly described as the area where efforts have been made to take up the challenge of defining plausible models of non-deductive reasoning.

SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION EXAMPLES

We have good, scientific explanations for most of what we see in the natural world. For example, why do objects fall to the ground? Well, there is a force called gravity that attracts every object in the universe to every other object.

The scientific theory says that bigger objects produce larger forces of gravity, and that the closer two objects are together the larger the force of gravity. The earth's gravity is really easy to observe because the earth is huge, and it's nearby.

Another example of a scientific explanation is the answer to the common question, 'Why is the sky blue?' It's all about light scattering. We receive white light from the sun, and that light fills the earth's atmosphere. Most of the light that passes overhead keeps going and doesn't reach our eyes at all. But some of it is scattered by the air molecules and bounces into our eyes. Blue light scatters more than any other color, so the sky appears blue to us.

Both of these are scientific explanations because they use all the observations and data we humans have collected. But, let's talk about how we evaluate scientific explanations - how we figure out whether a scientific explanation is a good one or not. 

Science is the study of the natural world through observation and experiment. A scientific explanation uses observations and measurements to explain something we see in the natural world. Scientific explanations should match the evidence and be logical, or they should at least match as much of the evidence as possible.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com

Sexism

 SEXISM: SEE IT. NAME IT. STOP IT.

Sexism is prejudice or discrimination against a person or group based on their sex or gender. It primarily affects women and girls, and it is the root cause of gender inequity worldwide. Sexism is any expression (act, word, image, gesture) based on the idea that some persons, most often women, are inferior because of their sex. By this article I would like to present about simple discussion about Sexism and Gender equality in a relationship.

Sexism

Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to stereotypes and gender roles, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is intrinsically superior to another.

Gender inequality is a social process in which men and women are treated differently. Treatment may stem from differences in biological, psychological, or cultural norms that are popular in society. Some of these differences are based on experience, while others seem to be socially constructed.

Gender Streotypes

A gender stereotype is a generalized view or preconception about attributes or characteristics, or the roles that are or ought to be possessed by, or performed by, women and men. A gender stereotype is harmful when it limits women’s and men’s capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional careers and/or make choices about their lives.

A gender stereotype is a generalized view or preconception about attributes or characteristics, or the roles that are or ought to be possessed by, or performed by, women and men. A gender stereotype is harmful when it limits women’s and men’s capacity to develop their personal abilities, pursue their professional careers, and/or make choices about their lives.

Modern sexism

Modern Sexism represents a contemporary form of sexism based not on a belief in female inferiority, but rather on resentment or hostility towards working women themselves. 

Neosexism

Neosexism is defined as the “manifestation of a conflict between egalitarian values and residual negative feelings toward women”

By considering gender-related policy is- sues, the Neosexism scale allows respondents to express sexist attitudes without necessarily admitting that they believe that women are inferior to men. In short, the Neosexism scale appears to be a sensitive measure of modern prejudices based on gender.

Ambivalent sexism

Ambivalent sexism is a theoretical framework which posits that sexism has two sub-components: "hostile sexism" and "benevolent sexism"

Ambivalent sexism is a theoretical framework which posits that sexism has two sub-components: "hostile sexism" and "benevolent sexism". Hostile sexism reflects overtly negative evaluations and stereotypes about a gender.

GENDER EQUALITY IN A RELATIONSHIP

In the gender literature, we often come across two concepts: ‘gender equality' and ‘gender equity'. They are sometimes used interchangeably, but they do not quite refer to the same thing. Gender equality requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. And gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. Women and men are an equal being in a relationship. It’s important to communicate regularly about the balance in the relationship, especially if one of you is unhappy or uncomfortable. Women are not house pets, and society has the wrong idea of qualities of genres. There are women that are more stronger, rational, and are more protectors than some men.

Equality can mean different things to different partners. What matters is how you and your partner define it for your relationship. It’s important to communicate regularly about the balance in your relationship, especially if one of you is unhappy or uncomfortable. In a relationship, communication is very important. It doesn’t matter the situations, communications are primal. Why does equality even matter, you might ask? Well, we know that in an abusive relationship, one partner maintains power and control over the other. This type of relationship is extremely unbalanced and unequal. By learning more about how to create equality in a relationship, we can end abuse and build healthier relationships.

Sexism in a society is most commonly applied against women and girls. It functions to maintain patriarchy, or male domination, through ideological and material practices of individuals, collectives, and institutions that oppress women and girls on the basis of sex or gender.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com

 

Race, Ethnicity and Cultuer

 We live in a culture full of hares; but the tortoise always wins.

Race includes phenotypic characteristics such as skin color, whereas ethnicity also encompasses cultural factors such as nationality, tribal affiliation, religion, language and traditions of a particular group. By this article I would like to present about simple discussion about race, ethnicity and culture. 

Race and ethnicity are used to categorize certain sections of the population. In basic terms, race describes physical traits, and ethnicity refers to cultural identification. Race may also be identified as something you inherit while ethnicity is something you learn.

What is race?

Race is a term social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on certain characteristics. Race is a term social construct that artificially divides people into distinct groups based on certain characteristics. The idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited physical and behavioral differences. Race is a powerful social category forged historically through oppression, slavery, and conquest.

The social meaning of race and caste as pathways to employment, health, or education demonstrably overwhelms the analytic and explanatory power of genetic markers of difference between human aggregates.

Racial Diversity

According to Wikipedia Racial diversity in United States schools is the representation of different racial or ethnic groups in American schools:

 

Socaial Darwinism

According to social Darwinism, the biological concepts of natural selection, and the survival of the fittest in the environment also applicable to the human race, sociology as well.

Social Darwinism, the theory that human groups and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin perceived in plants and animals in nature.

What is Raacism?

Racism can be defined as beliefs, attitudes, and acts that denigrate or disadvantage individuals or groups because of presumed racial or ethnic group affiliation.  The belief that different nations of the world have different characteristics, abilities, or reasons for distinguishing their status from inferior or superior to each other.

Culture

Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits, music and arts. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique to the group.

Culture Development is good or not?

Cultural Development refers to the strategic planning and implementing of strategies to leverage your community's unique cultural assets for the economic and cultural benefit of the community as a whole. Therefore I think culture development is good.

A strong and free culture can ensure the primary rights, freedom and important in continuing peace among the society. A well-built and developed culture reflects the unity in a particular society or a country hence such development can be considered as good.

Ethnicity

An ethnic group or ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups such as a common set of traditions, ancestry, language, history, society, culture, nation, religion or social treatment within their residing area.

Ethnicity is a broader term than race. The term is used to categorize groups of people according to their cultural expression and identification. Commonalities such as racial, national, tribal, religious, linguistic, or cultural origin may be used to describe someone's ethnicity.

And also we can simply explain ethnicity as fallows, how to live a good life, our rights and responsibilities, the language of right and wrong, and moral decisions

Belonging to or belonging to a social group with a common collective national or cultural tradition. This situation often affects the culture.

Ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics concerned with the good for individuals and society and also described as moral philosophy. Ethics about something or someone other than ourselves and our own desires a self-interests, so that's why the ethics be the base of a culture. Ethics can be described as the source of a group strength, Because of the view of a social group, if they this is wrong, all group members fallow that as a wrong .not only that there is a conflict between followers and the unfollowers of that moral. This is the base of cultural differences.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com

Ethics & Happiness

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected 

The philosophy of happiness is the philosophical concern with the existence, nature, and attainment of happiness. Some philosophers believe happiness can be understood as the moral goal of life or as an aspect of chance; indeed, in most European languages the term happiness is synonymous with luck. By this article I would like to present about simple discussion about ethics, and after that three types of ethics, practical ethics and at the final I would like to present about happiness.

According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the goods health, wealth, knowledge, friends, etc.  that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. Happiness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment, and fulfillment. While happiness has many different definitions, it is often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction.

What is ethics?

Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity. Ethics is concerned with questions of how people ought to act, and the search for a definition of right conduct and the good life. In philosophy, Ethics is a studies the rightness or wrongness of a human action.

Types of Ethics

Ethics is defined as a moral philosophy or code of conduct followed by an individual or group of people.

• Deontological Ethics

In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology is the normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, rather than based on the consequences of the action.

Deontology is a theory that suggests actions are good or bad according to a clear set of rules. Its name comes from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. Actions that obey these rules are ethical, while actions that do not, are not. This ethical theory is most closely associated with German philosopher, Immanuel Kant:

                                                                Immanuel Kant

• Teleological ethics

Consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act is one that will produce a good outcome.

• virtue-based ethics

Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks. This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice. By practicing being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable and moral character.

Practical Ethics

Practical ethics is meant to concern substantive moral issues facing many of us each day, such as abortion or climate change. The subject of normative or theoretical ethics is the more abstract principles that might enable us to make decisions about these practical issues.

Practical Ethics by Peter Singer

Happiness😀😀😀

What is happiness?

Happiness is a sense of well-being, joy, or contentment. When people are successful, or safe, or lucky, they feel happiness. Happiness is generally linked to experiencing more positive feelings than negative. Perfect happiness, enlightenment, comes when you have all. Happiness is when your life fulfills your needs. In other words, happiness comes when you feel satisfied and fulfilled. Happiness is a feeling of contentment that life is just as it should be. Perfect happiness, enlightenment, comes when you have all of your needs satisfied.

Interinsic value

If something has intrinsic value, it is good on its own and isn't utilized for attaining anything else. An example of an intrinsic value would in fact be happiness, since being happy is worthy on its own, not because happiness will attain something greater or different.

Why does happiness have intrinsic value?

Because our nature has a capacity for it, and because every practical action, in some way, works toward it, happiness has intrinsic value. Happiness involves not only psychic development (valuing the right things, feeling right toward good things, being motivated to act). It also includes external goods and moral luck different.

In conclusion, happiness can most certainly be found and not just momentary pleasure, but genuine, long-lasting happiness, which is not something that comes to a person randomly.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com

Testimony

 

If you want a testimony, you are going to have a test.

The philosophy of testimony considers the nature of language and knowledge's confluence, which occurs when beliefs are transferred between speakers and hearers through testimony. Testimony constitutes words, gestures, or utterances that convey beliefs. By this article I would like to present about brief introduction of testimony, what is testimony, and I would like to talk about the caption I use for this article and at the last I discuss about what are the philosophical issues concerning testimony. 😏😏😏

What is testimony? 🤔🤔🤔 

In the field of philosophy, testimony is defined as the intentional transfer of a belief from one person to another. The transfer can be verbal, written, or signaled in some way. Issues concerning the epistemology of testimony have become increasingly discussed in contemporary philosophy, with the debate widening out from epistemology to other fields such as philosophy of mind, action theory, and philosophy of language.

Testimony

The expression 'testimony' in everyday usage in English is confined to reports by witnesses or by experts given in a courtroom, or other formal setting. But in analytic philosophy the expression is used as a label for the process by which knowledge or belief is gained from understanding and believing the spoken or written reports of others generally, regardless of setting. In a modern society testimony thus broadly understood is one of the main sources of belief. Very many of an individual's beliefs are gained second-hand: from personal communication, from all sorts of purportedly factual books, from written records of many kinds, and from newspapers, television and the internet. Testimony enables the diffusion of current news, information (or misinformation), opinion and gossip throughout a community with a shared language. It also enables the preservation and passing on of our accumulated heritage of knowledge and belief: in history, geography, the sciences, technology, etc. We would be almost unimaginably epistemically impoverished, without the resources provided by testimony in its various forms. 

Philosophy of Testimony 🤔🤔🤔

IF YOU WANT A TESTIMONY, YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A TEST.

This statement was made by Joyce Meyer. As I see it, this statement is largely true. But sometimes we can find testimony from previous tests. As Joyce Meyer points out here, I do not see the need to examine yourself if you need testimony. You can get another person to check and get testimony.

What are the philosophical issues concerning testimony?

When testimony is trustingly accepted by an individual, she acquires beliefs through it. In a modern society, very many of an individual's beliefs are derived directly from testimony, or depend for their grounding on other beliefs so derived. Are these beliefs derived from testimony ever justified, and apt to be knowledge? The primary concern of philosophy regarding testimony is epistemological: to explain the status as potentially justified and knowledgeable.

Beliefs dependent on testimony. - Or, if the upshot is skeptical, to show why such beliefs are not apt to be justified and knowledgeable.

Descriptive psychology will tell us what human belief acquisition through testimony is actually like, and what extent of dependence on testimony our belief systems actually exhibit. Given this distinction, we can divide our central issue about testimony along two dimensions, yielding four distinct questions to investigate.

• Descriptive Local Question

How do human hearers typically form belief in response to testimony? In particular, do they just trust their informant unthinkingly, blindly; or do they somehow (consciously, or sub-consciously) evaluate the informant for trustworthiness, and believe what they are told only if the evaluation is positive? (The process of testimony).

• Normative Local Question

In what conditions, and with what controls, should a mature adult hearer believe what she is told, on some particular occasion? (Fresh instances of testimony, for an adult hearer.).

• Descriptive Global Question

What is the actual place of testimony-beliefs overall, in a person's structure of empirical belief? What is the extent of dependence on testimony for grounding (epistemic dependence) of our beliefs? And what is the relation between testimony and our other sources of empirical belief: perception, memory, and deductive and inductive inference from empirical premises?

•     Normative Global Question

How, if ever, can a system of beliefs with uneliminated epistemic dependence on testimony be justified?

Testimony is an invaluable source of knowledge. ... This leads to the development of a theory that gives proper credence to testimony's epistemologically dual nature: both the speaker and the hearer must make a positive epistemic contribution to testimonial knowledge.

Dinesh Shiwantha Wanigathunga

dineshshiwantha@gmail.com