Evidence

1. Evidence

2. The Debate Triangle Evidence Claims

3. Review Valid: The conclusion of the argument follows logically from its premises. Sound: The argument is valid and all of its premises are true.

4. Evidence… Functions to support an argument. Demonstrates an argument’s validity by supporting its premises. Accompanies each premise in order to show that the premise is true, unless that premise is prima facie.

5. Prima Facie: True at first sight. Or, assumed true by the audience unless it is proven otherwise.

6. Evidence consists of… facts or conditions that are objectively observable. beliefs or statements generally accepted as true by the audience. conclusions previously established.

7. Evidence comes in many forms • research Studies • statistics • Anecdotes • personal anecdotes • expert testimonials • published text • and more…

8. Evidence comes in many forms …but it must always appear believable and reliable to the audience.

9. Criteria for good evidence • Expertise • Relevance • Consistency • Objectivity • Recency • Reliability • Access • Accuracy of Citation

10. Expertise • Expertise is the quality of having a background of knowledge and information relevant to the subject matter under discussion. (May include education and formal training, or experience gained in other ways.) • Because of the importance in establishing the acceptability of evidence with the audience, it is vital for arguers to cite their sources’ qualifications and experience.

11. Relevance • Evidence needs to be related to the claim • Information that doesn’t address the issue at hand, or sidesteps the question being asked, or simply has nothing to do with what is being talked about is worse than useless.

12. Consistency • Evidence needs to be consistent with other information and with itself. • External Consistency is the agreement of evidence with sources of information other than the source being used. • Internal Consistency is the absence of self-contradiction within information provided by the source

13. Objectivity • Objectivity refers to a source’s tendency to hold a fair and undistorted view on a question or issue. • Sources should be unbiased if possible • A bias is an unreasoned distortion of judgment or a prejudice on a topic.

14. Recency • Evidence needs to be sufficiently current—but this varies with the topic under discussion. • Evidence that appeals to the factual nature of the world or anything that changes needs to be current. • Other topics may be less affected by the comparative recency of evidence(e.g.—human rights or capital punishment).

15. Reliability • A reliable source is one that has proven to be correct many times in the past, or generally has a positive reputation as being true. • We’re looking for a good “track record” here—it can be an individual who has been right (e.g. “according to a reliable white house source”) or a publication (e.g. Consumer Reports.)

16. Access • The cited source should have been in a position to observe firsthand the matter being disputed. • Secondhand accounts are filtered out by the perspective and point-of-view of the person who reports to us.

17. Accuracy of Citation • Quoted information should not be withheld, second rate, or intentionally distorted. • Overruling question: Does the manner in which the arguer cites a source give recipients an accurate and faithful picture of the nature and intent of the evidence?

18. Presentation of Evidence • Evidence should be presented so that it meets the aforementioned criteria while still supporting the conclusion of the argument. • Evidence that supports a premise while appearing to contradict the conclusion is the result of poor evidence selection, weak evidence presentation, or an unsound argument.