On Sun, 13 Nov 2011 10:55:10 -0800, Jeffry Ricker wrote: >Hi all, > >I suspect that many of us, when we teach students to 'think critically', state >that "one can't prove a negative." Here's a brief article that provides a >counter-argument to this claim, at a level that students (and I) can >understand: > >Hales, S. (2005). You Can Prove a Negative. Think, 10, 109-12. Retrieved from > http://departments.bloomu.edu/philosophy/pages/content/hales/articles/proveanegative.htm >
For a somewhat different but not contrary position (i.e., going beyond the position stated by Hales), consider this article by Mercier and Sperber: http://www.dan.sperber.fr/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/MercierSperberWhydohumansreason.pdf Perhaps the key idea that Mercier and Sperber are asserting is the following from their abstract: |Skilled arguers, however, are not after the truth but after arguments |supporting their views. Which explains a lot. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=14130 or send a blank email to leave-14130-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
