‏When a claim is made, especially publicly, it
‏is natural to think we are being told the truth.
‏Most of the time we accept claims, especially
‏claims to fact, at face value. For instance, if
‏we read in the newspaper that there has been
‏a plane crash, we are entitled to assume that
‏such an event really has taken place. We
‏don't jump to the conclusion that the
‏statement is false just because we have not
‏witnessed it ourselves. We hear the football
‏results, or baseball scores, and assume they
‏are correct, and not made up to please the
‏fans of some clubs. We get a weather forecast
‏telling us to expect heavy snow, and we plan
‏accordingly: we don't ignore it just because it
‏is a prediction, and predictions aren't facts.
‏Assuming that most of what we are told is
‏true is entirely reasonable. Indeed, it is
‏necessary for a normal life, and the
‏functioning of a modern democratic society
‏If we questioned, or refused to believe,
‏everything we read or heard, life as we know
‏it would come to a standstill. That is why we
‏all have a responsibility to tell the truth; and
‏why people are understandably annoyed if
‏they are told something that is not true.
‏Everyone knows the story of The Boy Who
‏Cried 'Wolf!' or a story like it. The boy has a
‏bad habit of raising false alarms, in particular
‏frightening his community by shouting out
‏that a pack of wolves is approaching the
‏village. At first the villagers run to safety
‏whenever he does this. But after a while they
‏stop believing him, until the day comes when
‏a real wolf appears. By then, of course, the
‏boy has lost all credibility and his for-once
‏genuine warning is ignored. (You can work
‏out the ending yourself.)
‏The moral of the story is that truth and
‏trust are both important. People need to be
‏able to rely on what they are told most of the
‏time; and people who speak the truth need
‏others to believe them most of the time. But
‏that does not mean we should respond with
‏blind acceptance to everything that we read
‏and hear. Obviously we cannot assume that
‏just because something has been asserted - in
‏spoken, printed or any other form - it is true,
‏or we have to agree with it. People do make
‏false assertions not only with intent to
‏deceive, but also out of carelessness or
‏ignorance. Even when there is a core of truth
‏in what someone says, it may be exaggerated
‏or over-simplified, or a mere approximation
‏or a rough guess. There are many ways,
‏besides being plainly false, in which a claim
‏may be less than the whole truth
‏None of this means that we should start
‏routinely doubting everything. But it does
‏mean we should keep an open and inquisitive
‏mind
‏Justification
‏As you saw in the previous chapter, it is not
‏always possible to know whether a claim is
‏straightforwardly true or false. Knowledge
‏requires certainty and certainties are rare. In
‏the absence of certainty, the best evaluation
‏we can give of a claim or belief is to say
‏whether it is justified, or warranted. These two
‏words mean much the same as each other. A
‏warrant is a right or entitlement. We are
‏entitled to hold a belief, or to make a claim, if
‏there are strong grounds - for example
‏evidence to support it. Without such
‏grounds a claim is unwarranted (unjustified)