How you know what we know.
Me.
Anthony M. Odom
How do I know this?I have official documents that can establish my identity
(Driver's License, Social Security Card, Birth Certificate, Work ID)
There are people alive who know me and have known me for years.
There are school, medical and work records that can verify my claims.
I'm not claiming to be the King of England or the Sultan of Brunei.
I can establish my identity through evidence and logical reasoning.
Evidence:
My documentation.
My eyewitnesses.
Logical Reasoning:
There is not a compelling reason to doubt the authenticity of my documents, nor the validity of my eyewitnesses' claims.
None of my claims are particularly extraordinary.
Evidence And Logical Reasoning
This is how you know stuff.
More importantly, this is
how you know whether or
not someone else knows
stuff.
Testing knowledge.
Step 1: Check the physical evidence. If there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the evidence, proceed to step 3. If not...
Step 2: Check the practical application or demonstration of this knowledge.
Step 3: Check the reasoning behind the conclusions drawn from the evidence or demonstration for logical fallacies or bias.
Authenticity?
The quality of being what it appears to be.
Bias?
A leaning or
prejudice for or
against a person,
group, place,
thing or idea.
Logical Fallacies?
A mistake or a flaw in logical reasoning.
Common Logical Fallacy: Hasty Generalization
a.k.a.: "Jumping to Conclusions."
Coming to a conclusion based on inaccurate or incomplete information
Example: Joe is from Atlanta. Joe likes Pepsi. Everybody from Atlanta likes Pepsi.
Common Logical Fallacy:Post Hoc
Assuming that what came before is the cause of what came after.
Example: "Boston won the World Series in 2004.
Barack Obama was elected in 2008. Therefore Boston winning the World Series caused Obama to get elected."
(The winner of the World Series has nothing to do with presidential elections)
Common Logical Fallacies:Begging the Question
a.k.a.: "Circular Reasoning."
Assuming the truth of a something with nothing other than the claim itself to back it up.
Example: “I read on the internet that they can’t put anything on the internet that isn’t true. Therefore, everything on the internet is true.”
(“Uh ... ‘bon jour!’”)
Common Logical Fallacies:Special Pleading
a.k.a.: "Stacking the deck," "Moving the goalposts," "Ignoring the counter-evidence," "rationalizing."
Making up an excuse for why your claim proved false.
Example: "Joe's magic powers can't work when you are around because you lack faith/the spirits are angry/he needs a psychic Red Bull."
(Or Joe's a fraud, a fake, or a phony.)
Common Logical Fallacies:Ad Hominem
"Of the Man"
Attacking someone's character or personal traits in an attempt to discredit them.
"Joe can't be right about 2 and 2 making 4 because he's a recovering alcoholic who eats kittens."
(Joe's personal issues don't make him a liar.)
Common Logical Fallacies:False Dichotomy
a.k.a.: "Black or White"
Presenting a limited number of alternatives (usually two) when actually more exist.
Example: "Either 1+1=3 or 1+1=4. 1+1 does not equal 3, so it must equal 4."
(Ummmm......no.)
Common Logical Fallacies:Confirmation Bias
a.k.a: "The Texas Sharpshooter," "Cherry Picking,"
“Quote mining,” “Hearing what you want to hear.”
Picking only the data the supports your argument.
Example: "Coach said that i'd be a great help to the team!"
(What coach actually said was, "You'd be a great help to the team by not being on it.")
Common Logical Fallacies:Argument from Ignorance
Discounting the validity of something because you personally don’t understand how it works.
“I don’t understand how it’s possible for a manned spacecraft to have made it from the earth to the moon and back, therefore the moon landing was faked.”
(I don’t understand stupidity, but it exists).
Common Logical Fallacies:Appeals
Appeal to Authority: "Dr. So-And-So from Po-Dunk Tech said it, therefore it's true."
Appeal to Common Practice (or Tradition): "Well, that's the way we do it/it's always been done."
Appeal to Popularity: "Most people believe in invisible unicorns, so they are real."
Appeal to Novelty: "It's newer, so it's better!"