{"id":2488,"date":"2016-10-26T16:01:55","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T20:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/nwcenter\/?post_type=lessonplans&p=2488"},"modified":"2025-03-04T15:33:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T23:33:24","slug":"beliefs-and-evidence","status":"publish","type":"teachertoolkit","link":"https:\/\/plato-philosophy.org\/teachertoolkit\/beliefs-and-evidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Beliefs and Evidence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Materials needed: <\/strong>Paper and pen\/pencil<\/p>\n

Description: <\/strong>Begin by having a loose discussion about the difference between \u201copinion\u201d and \u201cknowledge.\u201d This should bring up claims about reasons, evidence, and proof. After a brief discussion about this difference, have the students write down three things they know. For each statement, have the students write down their best reason for thinking its true. Encourage their three beliefs to be pretty different from one another. Have the students put a star next to the belief they are most confident about. Have the students turn and talk to a neighbor about what they wrote and why.<\/p>\n

Bring the class back to a general discussion and ask for a few volunteers to write their starred beliefs on the board. Ask the class about what are some good reasons for thinking these beliefs are true. As examples of each come up, write on the board these categories of evidence: memory, testimony, experience, logical. (\u201cLogical\u201d is a flawed word for what philosophers usually call a priori<\/em> justification. Since that can be a difficult concept, \u201clogical\u201d seems to be an imperfect, but workable stand-in.) Ask the students which of these kinds of evidence is most trustworthy and why. Ask which is least trustworthy and why.<\/p>\n

On the board, write down three false beliefs. For example, \u201cThere is a purple elephant in the room;\u201d \u201cThe moon is made out of cheese;\u201d or \u201c[Teacher name] is a robot.\u201d<\/p>\n

For each statement, ask the students how they know the claim isn\u2019t true. This should connect up with the different kinds of evidence mentioned earlier. Ask the students if they know that these claims aren\u2019t true, or if just have an opinion that they aren\u2019t true.<\/p>\n

Finally, ask the students to return to their starred belief and to explain why they think they know it to be true, as opposed to just having an opinion that it\u2019s true. After a few minutes, ask for volunteers to share their reasoning.<\/p>\n

If you have any extra time, ask the students, as a class, to try to come up with the belief that they are most sure of. Put contenders on the board and have the class vote. End with a discussion about why that belief earns so much confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Materials needed: Paper and pen\/pencil Description: Begin by having a loose discussion about the difference between \u201copinion\u201d and \u201cknowledge.\u201d This should bring up claims about reasons, evidence, and proof. After a brief discussion about this difference, have the students write down three things they know. For each statement, have the students write down their best … Beliefs and Evidence<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2494,"template":"","toolkitcategory":[757,29],"gradelevel":[48,47],"topics":[256,496,450],"class_list":["post-2488","teachertoolkit","type-teachertoolkit","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","toolkitcategory-epistemology","toolkitcategory-history-social-studies","gradelevel-high-school-and-beyond","gradelevel-middle-school","topics-epistemology","topics-justification","topics-reasoning"],"yoast_head":"\nBeliefs and Evidence - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beliefs and Evidence - PLATO - Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Materials needed: Paper and pen\/pencil Description: Begin by having a loose discussion about the difference between \u201copinion\u201d and \u201cknowledge.\u201d This should bring up claims about reasons, evidence, and proof. 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