Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
nontendentious evidence
References
Britannica AI Icon

nontendentious evidence

philosophy
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  EncyclopƦdia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

In philosophy, "nontendentious evidence" refers to data that is free from bias and can be used to support or refute a claim without presupposing the claim's truth. This concept is crucial in philosophical debates, particularly in the philosophy of mind, where it addresses the mind-body problem and the nature of consciousness.1

Empirical evidence, a form of nontendentious evidence, is gathered through observation or experimentation. It can be quantitative, involving numerical data and statistical analysis, or qualitative, focusing on in-depth understanding through methods like interviews and observations. The validity of empirical evidence is assessed through internal (soundness of design and analysis) and external (generalizability) measures.2

Philosophers like David Hume emphasized that beliefs should be proportional to the evidence. The challenge lies in presenting evidence that doesn't implicitly assume what it aims to prove, especially when discussing subjective experiences like consciousness.21

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
2 Britannica Sources
  1. empirical evidence
  2. philosophy of mind - The need for nontendentious evidence

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.