Chapter 3: Glossary
This glossary follows the organization of the textbook and other areas of this Web site and contains short definitions for all the important terms and concepts from the chapter. You will also find hyperlinks to Websites relevant to the study of these terms and concepts. You should employ good critical thinking when evaluating the merit of any information you find on the World Wide Web, including what you find by following these links.
Background information. The broad and vague collection of our general and specific beliefs about the world, typically arrived at through years of education and experience, and typically without our ability to say where it came from.
Bias. An inappropriate personal motive that casts doubts on one's own observations, the firsthand observations reported by someone else, or the claims of an expert.
Credible source. A person who makes a claim that we thereby have good reason to accept. Most often, the cause of credibility is knowledge.
Expert. A person with knowledge beyond that of educated laypersons on some specialized subject. Experts make especially credible sources for information, as long as (1) the area of their expertise is relevant to the issue at hand, (2) their claims do not conflict with those of other experts, and (3) we have no reason to suspect their bias. One becomes qualified as an expert by means of education (not necessarily obtained in a school), experience, accomplishments, reputation, and position.
Initial plausibility. The agreement of a new informative claim with things we already have good reason to believe. A claim's initial plausibility depends more specifically on its agreement with our own observations and our store of background information.
Observation. The immediate perception of a thing or event. Other things being equal, observation produces the most solid grounds for accepting a claim, and the most solid grounds for rejecting one that denies one's observation. But many circumstances can render even observation unreliable.
