Assessing Testimony and Other Evidential Sources in Law: An Epistemological Approach

FLORENCIA RIMOLDI; HERNAN BOUVIER

Pragmatics and Law: Practical and Theoretical Perspectives

Springer

Año: 2017; p. 439 - 468

<!-- /* Font Definitions */@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-hyphenate:none;font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-language:AR-SA;}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;}@page WordSection1{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm;mso-header-margin:36.0pt;mso-footer-margin:36.0pt;mso-paper-source:0;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}-->In this paper we seek to address some platitudessurrounding the epistemic weight of testimony in legal domain by taking intoaccount how epistemology explains the different but related phenomenon offorming beliefs based on the words of others. We propose a way of analysing thelegal decision-maker in terms of a rational believer without committingourselves with subjective readings of legal evidential assessments. In light ofthis, we analyse the pragmatic implications of legal platitudes and theconceptual possibility to hold them together, as well as the singularity oftestimony in an institutional domain like the law.