Knowledge Tree
Thomas Reid
Facts (34)
Sources
Epistemology of Testimony | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 13 facts
claimThe earliest clear statements of the reductionist and non-reductionist positions in the epistemology of testimony appear in the works of David Hume and Thomas Reid.
claimThomas Reid argued that children properly trust others even when they lack any past inductive basis in their experience.
quoteThomas Reid wrote in 1764: “[I]f credulity were the effect of reasoning and experience, it must grow up and gather strength, in the same proportion as reason and experience do. But, if it is the gift of Nature, it will be strongest in childhood, and limited and restrained by experience; and the most superficial view of human nature shews, that the last is really the case, and not the first. … [N]ature intends that our belief should be guided by the authority and reason of others before it can be guided by our own reason.”
claimThomas Reid (1785) defines testimony as a situation where the epistemic subject relies on the testifier's authority for the truth of a proposition.
quoteAlvin Plantinga, citing Thomas Reid, stated in 1993: "Reid is surely right in thinking that the beliefs we form by way of credulity or testimony are typically held in the basic way, not by way of inductive or abductive evidence from other things I believe. I am five years old; my father tells me that Australia is a large country and occupies an entire continent all by itself. I don’t say to myself, “My father says thus and so; most of the time when I have checked what he says has turned out to be true; so probably this is; so probably Australia is a very large country that occupies an entire continent by itself.” I could reason that way and in certain specialized circumstances we do reason that way. But typically we don’t. Typically we just believe what we are told, and believe it in the basic way. … I say I could reason in the inductive way to what testimony testifies to; but of course I could not have reasoned thus in coming to the first beliefs I held on the basis of testimony."
claimThomas Reid argued that children properly trust others even when they lack past inductive experience, suggesting that credulity is an innate gift of nature rather than a product of reasoning.
claimThomas Reid (1785) distinguishes testimony by the epistemic subject relying on the testifier's authority for the truth of a proposition.
claimThe debate between David Hume and Thomas Reid regarding testimonially-based beliefs can be characterized by the extent to which such beliefs are implicitly inferential.
claimThe debate between David Hume and Thomas Reid regarding internal conditions on testimonially-based beliefs can be characterized by whether testimonially-based justification is reducible to other forms of justification.
claimThomas Reid, a prototype non-reductionist, acknowledged significant disanalogies between beliefs based on perception and beliefs based on testimony.
quoteThomas Reid (1785) stated: “There is no doubt an analogy between the evidence of the senses and the evidence of testimony. … But there is a real difference between the two as well as a similarity. When we believe something on the basis of someone’s testimony, we rely on that person’s authority. But we have no such authority for believing our senses.”
claimThomas Reid's theory of testimony holds that testimonially-based justification is not reducible to perceptual or inferential justification because it relies on an innate faculty.
claimThomas Reid suggests that humans possess an innate faculty that causes them to trust those who testify, which is not confirmed by personally observed earlier instances.
Social Epistemology – Introduction to Philosophy - Rebus Press press.rebus.community 4 facts
claimThomas Reid, C.A.J. Coady, Matthew Weiner, Peter Graham, and Sanford Goldberg are representative proponents of non-reductionism in the epistemology of testimony.
claimThomas Reid, a contemporary of David Hume, was a critic of testimonial reductionism, specifically arguing that it relies too heavily on individual observation.
quoteThomas Reid argued against the reliance on individual observation in testimonial reductionism, stating: “most men would be unable to find reasons for believing the thousandth part of what is told them.”
claimThomas Reid's argument, known as the 'not enough evidence objection' (NEEO), posits that reductionism implies individuals are rarely justified in believing testimony, which serves as a powerful objection to non-skeptical reductionism.
Epistemological Problems of Testimony plato.stanford.edu Apr 1, 2021 4 facts
referenceNicholas Wolterstorff authored the book 'Thomas Reid and the Story of Epistemology', which was published by Cambridge University Press in 2001.
referenceThomas Reid's 'Inquiry and Essays' (1983) explores epistemological themes, edited by Ronald E. Beanblossom and Keith Lehrer.
claimNon-Reductionism in epistemology traces back to the work of Thomas Reid (1983).
perspectiveThomas Reid (1983) argues that whatever reasons exist for considering perception a basic source of justification also apply to testimony as a basic source of justification.
Social Epistemology - Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science oecs.mit.edu Jul 24, 2024 3 facts
claimPhilosophers David Hume and Thomas Reid endorsed social views of knowledge, contrasting with the individualist motto of the British Royal Society.
claimDavid Hume argued that the trustworthiness of scholarship is established through expert scrutiny, while Thomas Reid argued for the principle of credulity, which asserts the right to trust the word of others.
claimThomas Reid argued for the principle of credulity, which asserts the right to trust the word of others.
Social Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Feb 26, 2001 2 facts
claimThomas Reid argued that honesty in speakers and credulity in audiences are natural psychological endowments and are as worthy of reliance in belief-formation as the faculty of perception.
referenceThomas Reid's 'Inquiry and Essays' (originally published 1764) is a foundational text in the epistemology of testimony.
Virtue Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jul 9, 1999 2 facts
claimThomas Reid authored 'Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man' in 1785, which was later edited by Derek Brookes and published by Pennsylvania State University Press in 2002.
claimThomas Reid authored 'Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense' in 1764, which was later edited by Derek R. Brookes and published by Pennsylvania State University Press in 1997.
Naturalism in Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Jan 8, 2016 1 fact
claimThomas Reid's "An Inquiry into the Human Mind on the Principles of Common Sense" was originally published in 1764.
Mind and Consciousness - St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology saet.ac.uk Jun 20, 2024 1 fact
claimSubstance dualism, which recognizes the distinct reality of the soul or mind and the body, has been developed by Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, the Florentine Academy, John Calvin, the Cambridge Platonists, René Descartes, John Locke, Thomas Reid, Richard Swinburne, and Alvin Plantinga.
Epistemology - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy plato.stanford.edu Dec 14, 2005 1 fact
claimThomas Reid suggested that humans have a natural tendency to accept testimonial sources as reliable and to attribute credibility to them unless there are specific reasons to believe otherwise.
Here is my contribution to Ockham day. (P1) Aristotle's theory of the ... facebook.com Apr 10, 2023 1 fact
claimThomas Reid posited that a thorough analysis of consciousness reveals that "natural and original judgments" accompany perceptions.
Dualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Winter 2016 Edition) plato.stanford.edu Aug 19, 2003 1 fact
claimThomas Reid argued in 1785 that the identity of persons over time is not a matter of convention or degree, unlike the identity of other complex substances, suggesting the self is a different kind of entity from any physical body.
Epistemology of Testimony - Bibliography - PhilPapers philpapers.org 1 fact
referenceHistorical antecedents to the contemporary literature on the epistemology of testimony include John Locke’s 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding', David Hume’s 'On Miracles', and Thomas Reid’s 'An Inquiry into the Human Mind' and 'Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man'.