Card 2.2.4 · Root II — Epistemology
Testimony
Do you need a reason to trust, or a reason not to?
This node asks when you are entitled to believe something because someone told you.
Where it sits
Under 2.2 Sources of knowledge. Feeds 2.7 Social epistemology.
The rival answers
| Position | Claim |
|---|---|
| Reductionism | Testimony is justified by inference from the source's track record |
| Anti-reductionism | Trust is the default; you need a reason to withhold it, not to give it |
| Dual-aspect views | Default trust, defeasible by specific evidence |
| Assurance views | The speaker's taking responsibility is itself what justifies belief |
| Nyaya sabda | Testimony from a reliable speaker is an irreducible means of knowledge |
Key figures
| Figure | Dates | Tradition | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gautama (Akṣapāda) | trad. c. 2nd c. CE | Indian Nyaya | Sabda as a distinct pramana |
| Dignāga | c. 480–540 | Indian Buddhist | Reduced testimony to inference |
| David Hume | 1711–1776 | European modern | Testimony weighed against prior probability |
| Thomas Reid | 1710–1796 | European modern | Credulity and veracity as natural principles |
| Miranda Fricker | b. 1966 | Analytic | Testimonial injustice: credibility withheld on prejudicial grounds |
Connections
→ 2.2 · ↔ 2.7, 2.7.1, 2.2.3, 2.2.5 · ◇ reductionism, anti-reductionism, sabda · ○ Classical; Early modern; Modern; Table 3
→ narrower questions · ↔ questions it borders · ◇ the positions, mapped in Part III of the book · ○ the eras and comparison tables (Parts IV and V)
The full card is in the book
In The Coordinates of Thought this card goes on to a worked example that sets the answers against one case, and to where the question touches daily life — page 99.
On Coordinates of Thought
Conversations about this question in Evidence & testimony:
- Testimony is an independent source of knowledge, not reducible to perception or inference 6 replies
- What is hermeneutical injustice, and how is it different from simply not being believed? 6 replies
- Testimonial injustice is a failure of knowledge, not only a failure of fairness 6 replies
- Where a claim came from is often the best evidence you have about it 6 replies
- Can students learn something from a teacher who doesn’t believe it herself? 6 replies
Join free to ask about it Everything in Evidence & testimony