Question 1

Personal experience is always infallible.

Accepted Answer

Personal experience is subjective and can be influenced by biases, perceptions, and incomplete information, making it fallible.

Question 2

Expert testimony is always infallible.

Accepted Answer

Expert testimony, while often reliable, is subject to human error, biases, and limitations in knowledge, making it not always infallible.

Question 3

Only a tiny fraction of what we know about the world is learned on the basis of testimony.

Accepted Answer

A significant portion of our knowledge about the world comes from the testimony of others, through education, media, and personal communication, rather than direct personal experience.

Question 4

The book argues that testimony can never be trusted because people often lie.

Accepted Answer

The book does not argue that testimony can never be trusted solely because people often lie; it explores the complexities of testimony, acknowledging that while people can lie, testimony is also a crucial source of knowledge that can be reliable under certain conditions.

Question 5

To qualify as an expert, one must have solid academic credentials.

Accepted Answer

Expertise can be gained through various means including practical experience, self-study, mentorship, and professional practice, not just academic credentials.

Question 6

Expectation can cause us to see or hear something that is not really there.

Accepted Answer

Expectations can influence our perceptions, leading us to see or hear things based on what we anticipate or believe, rather than what is actually present. This is due to the brain's tendency to fill in gaps in information with familiar patterns or past experiences.

Question 7

Memory is infallible.

Accepted Answer

Memory is prone to errors, distortions, and forgetting, making it fallible.

Question 8

An expert can be mistaken.

Accepted Answer

Experts, while highly knowledgeable in their fields, are still human and can make errors in judgment, interpretation, or prediction.

Question 9

Thomas Reid is known as the &#34;philosopher of common sense.&#34;

Accepted Answer

Thomas Reid, a Scottish philosopher, is indeed known as the "philosopher of common sense" because he founded the Scottish Common Sense School of Philosophy, emphasizing ordinary human experience and common sense as the basis for knowledge.

Question 10

The book argues that personal experiences cannot be questioned.

Accepted Answer

Personal experiences are subjective and can be interpreted in various ways, but they can be questioned or analyzed for understanding, biases, or broader implications.

Question 11

Cite someone you believe to be an expert on a subject and explain what makes the person an expert.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Cite someone you believe to be an...

Question 12

Cite someone widely believed to be an expert on a subject whom you believe does not deserve the title.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Cite someone widely believed to be an...

Question 13

Explain a situation in your life where you relied on the testimony of someone else to find the truth &#8230; and you were misled. What went wrong?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain a situation in your life where...

Question 14

Cite an item of your own knowledge that is justified on the basis of personal testimony.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Cite an item of your own knowledge...

Deck 7: Personal Experience, Testimony, and Expert Authority