A Practical Guide to Critical Thinking by David Hunter

Author:David Hunter
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781118583142
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

4.5.2 Trained Testimony

Second, testimonial evidence is acceptable only if the witness is properly trained. This is just a way of asking whether the witness is reliable, whether there is a high likelihood that his testimony will be true.

What it takes to be properly trained depends of course on the topic. Trials provide lots of good examples. Only in special kinds of cases will an eye witness to a crime have to show that her eyes were working properly the afternoon of the crime, though if she ordinarily wears glasses that will be relevant to whether she really did see what happened. But it is much more common for a witness on a specialized scientific topic to have to demonstrate to the court that she has the proper training. Expert witnesses on DNA testing or finger printing need to show they have the training and certification needed for their testimony to be acceptable. Usually, the fact that a witness has been certified by the relevant organization is good reason to think she has the proper training to count as an expert witness on that topic.

These examples are from court trials. But the same issues arise in more mundane cases too. I would trust my highly trained electrician over my 9-year-old daughter to tell me whether the wiring in the panel is adequate. I would turn to the pharmacist and not the grocery clerk for advice on which antihistamine to buy, though I might trust the grocery clerk over the pharmacist on which streetcar will get me downtown fastest. In this last case, it is not the training but the experience that matters.

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