Character Evidence

by Walton, Douglas N.

• ISBN13: 9781402049422
• ISBN10: 1402049420
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

This book is on evidence for character judgments, answering questions about how such judgments are and should be supported or refuted by verifiable evidence. For example, if I claim that some particular person has integrity, or does not, what kind of justification should properly be used to support or refute the claim? This book answers the question using a model of abductive reasoning, commonly called inference to the best explanation. The methodology of the book derives from recent work on models of reasoning in argumentation theory and artificial intelligence. The aim is not just to show how character judgments are made, but to show how they should be properly be made based on sound reasoning, in order to avoid errors and superficial judgments of a kind that are common. Character evidence in law is on a razor's edge. It is generally inadmissible, for it might tend to prejudice a jury, but it is a kind of evidence often needed in trials, for example, to cross-examine a witness. This book shows that we are not as good at judging character as we think, and often make serious mistakes. But it is shown how character judgments can, in some instances, be based on good reasoning supported by factual evidence in a case.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	xi
Introduction	xiii
1 The Problem of Character Evidence	1	(38)
1.1 Individual Worth and Respect for Character	2	(3)
1.2 Ruling on Relevance of Character Evidence in Trials	5	(4)
1.3 Problem of the Two-sided Nature of Character Evidence in Law	9	(6)
1.4 Innuendo and Attacks on Character	15	(2)
1.5 Character Assassination and Panegyric Discourse	17	(3)
1.6 Reputation and Character	20	(4)
1.7 Character Attacks and Ad Hominem Arguments	24	(3)
1.8 A Problem of Reasoning and Evidence	27	(2)
1.9 Character Properties in Law and Ethics	29	(4)
1.10 Character Evidence in Law and Artificial Intelligence	33	(6)
2 Defining and Judging Character	39	(40)
2.1 Bias and Character	40	(3)
2.2 Habit, Propensity and Motive	43	(3)
2.3 Agents, Practical Reasoning and Character	46	(3)
2.4 Character as the Property of an Agent	49	(3)
2.5 Evaluating Witness Testimony	52	(4)
2.6 The Structure of Abductive Reasoning	56	(5)
2.7 Character as an Interpersonal Notion	61	(3)
2.8 Evidence for Character Judgments	64	(3)
2.9 Drawing Conclusions by Abductive Reasoning from Given Data	67	(7)
2.10 Differentiating Character, Motive and Bias	74	(5)
3 Integrity and Hypocrisy	79	(30)
3.1 The Three Central Characteristics of Integrity	80	(2)
3.2 Judging a Person's Integrity	82	(2)
3.3 Commitment and Integrity	84	(3)
3.4 A Case Where a Person's Integrity is in Doubt	87	(1)
3.5 Living Up to a Commitment	88	(2)
3.6 Integrity and Living Up to a Commitment	90	(4)
3.7 Character Attack Based on Alleged Hypocrisy	94	(4)
3.8 Evaluation of the Alleged Hypocrisy Case	98	(3)
3.9 Evidence for Judgments of Integrity and Hypocrisy	101	(4)
3.10 The Defeasibility of Character Judgments	105	(4)
4 Simulative Reasoning and Plan Recognition	109	(30)
4.1 Collingwood's Theory of Reenactment	110	(2)
4.2 Simulative and Autoepistemic Reasoning	112	(4)
4.3 Strategic Use of Simulative Reasoning	116	(3)
4.4 Scripts and Stories	119	(4)
4.5 Simulative Practical Reasoning	123	(2)
4.6 Plan Recognition	125	(3)
4.7 Characteristics of Simulative Practical Reasoning	128	(2)
4.8 Combination of Simulative and Abductive Reasoning	130	(3)
4.9 Abstraction and Chaining	133	(2)
4.10 Defeasible Reasoning	135	(4)
5 Multi-Agent Dialogue	139	(38)
5.1 Plausible Reasoning	140	(6)
5.2 Plan Recognition and Dialogue	146	(3)
5.3 Sources of Dialogue Evidence	149	(4)
5.4 Commitment in Dialogue	153	(2)
5.5 Legal Evidence and Examination Dialogue	155	(4)
5.6 Examination Dialogue and Conversational Postulates	159	(3)
5.7 A Dialectical Theory of Explanation	162	(3)
5.8 A Dialectical Argumentation Scheme for Abduction	165	(5)
5.9 Abductive Evidence for Courage Judgments	170	(4)
5.10 Abductive Evidence for Integrity Judgments	174	(3)
6 A Multi-Agent System for Character Evidence	177	(44)
6.1 Character-Based Inferences	178	(3)
6.2 Inferences Linking Evidence to Character	181	(4)
6.3 Generalizations and Fallacies	185	(4)
6.4 Character-Based Evidence Contrasted to Other Evidence	189	(3)
6.5 Argumentation Schemes	192	(4)
6.6 Ad Hominem Arguments	196	(4)
6.7 Plan Recognition and Practical Inconsistency	200	(4)
6.8 Simulative Reasoning in Ad Hominem Arguments	204	(3)
6.9 The PFARD Multi-Agent Dialogue System	207	(7)
6.10 Summary of the Method	214	(7)
Bibliography	221	(10)
Index	231