Knowledge from Testimony: Benefits and Dangers

Abstract

Testimony is an important source of knowledge in many contexts, including that of education, but the notion of the teacher as testifier is not often discussed. Since much that is believed by individuals has come to them not from direct experience but by accepting the accounts of others, the trustworthiness of their interlocutors' testimonies, whether these be spoken, textual or electronic in form, is an important factor in determining whether or not they acquire true, justified beliefs. Testimonial trustworthiness is a combination of competence and sincerity, both of which tend to be high when a teacher testifies in her area of expertise. But in the world beyond the classroom there are situations in which the competence or sincerity of the testifier is low, so it is important that the learner acquires an epistemically‐virtuous, well‐attuned disposition towards testimony.

Towards a few ideals in the concept of teaching. Teaching as a vehicle in education

“…In these circumstances and processes the teacher plays a crucial role and, of course, the learner's relation to the teacher becomes essential. The teacher has the role of a testifier in teaching (Moran, 2013). On the other hand, students should also develop the capacity for critical thought.…”

Teaching through textbooks: Teachers as practitioners of a discipline?

“…Maya believed that this manner of repetition and recall formed a privileged pedagogical move as part of her teaching strategy: since these facts were part of a textbook written by experts, they were deemed testimonial knowledge (Chakrabarti, 1992;McNulty, 2013;Moran, 2013) that needed to be transmitted to students. This status was further reinforced by the importance of these facts for evaluation since they often correspond to the revision questions at the end of the chapter, which in turn, students could reasonably expect to see in exam questions.…”