Critical Thinking and the Wider Web

1
Critical Thinking and the Wider Web

• Unit 1
• Checking Facts and
• Gathering Opinions

2
When and what were the Burning Times? How many
people died as a result?

• Find a selection of websites that address this
  question
• Record your search strategy and what you find on
  the worksheet
• Comment on any notable features of the sites or
  answers you discover

3
When and what were the Burning Times?

• The phrase refers to the persecution of people
  accused of witchcraft in the early modern period
  (ca. 1450-1700)
• A Google search for defineBurning Times
  produces a range of definitions, the first of
  which is this glossary

4
When and what were the Burning Times?

• However
• In England and America, most people convicted of
  witchcraft were hanged
• In Scotland and on the continent, burning was
  more common, but victims were rarely burnt alive
  they were usually executed by other means first

5
When and what were the Burning Times?

• Many academics prefer to avoid the term
• Instead, more neutral terms such as early modern
  persecution of witches or witch hunts are
  preferred
• But the term is still in frequent use in the
  neo-Pagan community

6
How many people died as a result?

• Some popular estimates are as high as nine
  million
• Most scholarly investigations put the figure at a
  few tens of thousands
• Many websites reflect the scholarly research, but
  there are also sites which still give inflated
  figures

7
Example websites giving high estimates

• The Burning Times website suggests an estimated
  one million people were put to death in Europe
• For some time, this was the top hit for the
  Google search Burning Times, and is still
  highly ranked

8
Example websites giving high estimates

• The website Witch Prickers suggests a maximum
  estimate of 13 million dead and a minimum
  estimate of 4 million
• Wiccan Terms and Definitions and the Wiccan
  Dictionary both suggest nine million

9
Example websites giving lower estimates

• Religious Tolerance.org suggests between 50,000
  and 100,000
• The article Falsehoods of the Burning Times
  suggests 60,000
• Wicca For the Rest of Us suggests between 40,000
  and 100,000

10
Compare and contrast

• Look at the example sites and consider
• Other than in the figures they give, how do these
  sites differ?
• Who wrote these sites? What are their
  credentials?
• Are sources/references given?

11
Compare and contrast

• There is a significant difference in tone
• Articles quoting higher numbers often use more
  emotive language
• Those giving lower numbers are frequently couched
  as attempts to set the record straight

12
Compare and contrast

• There may also be a marked difference in the
  picture painted
• Sites giving higher numbers are more likely to
  identify the victims as Pagans or followers of
  the Old Religion
• The Catholic Church is more likely to be blamed

13
Compare and contrast

• However, sites giving lower estimates are not
  immune from error
• For example, Religious Tolerance.org implies that
  alleged witches were routinely burned alive

14
Compare and contrast

• Sites with lower estimates more frequently give
  information about the author
• From Religious Tolerance.org
• From Wicca For the Rest of Us
• But this isnt universally the case

15
Compare and contrast

• Sites on this topic are frequently written by
  people with a keen personal interest rather than
  an academic background in the area
• The occasional source is listed, but full
  references are rarely given

16
Alternative search strategies

• Search using terms favoured by academics
• Phrases like witch hunt and witch craze
  produce slightly different results
• Some more academic sites e.g. The Witch Hunts,
  by Prof. Brian A. Pavlac but still a fairly
  high proportion of non-scholarly material

17
Alternative search strategies

• Use more specific search terms
• Phrases like witch hunt scholarship or witch
  hunt scholarly research produce some useful hits
• But not all the material is helpful some is
  irrelevant, some only suited to in-depth
  research, and some requires subscription

18
Alternative search strategies

• Consult a gateway
• An academic gateway site such as Intute Arts and
  Humanities offers hand-selected resources
• Searches give fewer results, but theyre more
  likely to be what youre looking for

19
Alternative search strategies

• Searching Intute for Burning Times, witch
  hunt, or witch craze gives a small number of
  (mostly) relevant results
• A description of each site aids the process of
  determining whats most useful
• Also offered are additional features such as
  Limelight articles

20
Alternative search strategies

• The hits include Jenny Gibbonss informative
  essay Recent Developments in the Study of the
  Great European Witch Hunt
• Gives the authors credentials and mentions her
  sources (though still lacks detailed references)

21
Summary - key things to note

• Popular and scholarly answers may vary widely
• Its useful to consult a variety of sources
• Checking where the information given is drawn
  from is also wise

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Why might we find conflicting answers to a
question?

• There may be real uncertainty about the answer
• Authorities may disagree
• There may be multiple ways of interpreting a
  question

23
Why might we find conflicting answers to a
question?

• Some sources may be more up to date than others
• Answers may vary in precision
• Some sources may simply be wrong

24
Questions to ask when assessing sources

• Who is the author?
• An individual or an institution?
• What are the authors credentials?
• Is this a scholarly resource, or a more informal
  one?
• How up to date is this source?

25
Questions to ask when assessing sources

• Are there reasons to doubt the reliability of
  this source?
• Does it include information I know to be false?
• Does it contradict itself or use poor reasoning?
• Is it biased towards a particular view?

26
Questions to ask when assessing sources

• Is the information provided confirmed by other
  sources?
• Are references provided?
• Do other websites agree? (A major advantage of
  the Web is that many sources can be compared
  quickly and easily.)

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Remember the three Ws

• WHO wrote this site?
• Is the author a trustworthy source?
• WHEN was it written?
• Is it up to date?
• WHY was it written?
• Does the author have an axe to grind?