This chapter suggests that evidence should be viewed as a field of study, one to which most disciplines could contribute and from which most could benefit, and that generalisations should be viewed as part of that field. Every argument must be based upon a generalisation that can be stated as a major premise. The relationship between a supporting proposition or propositions and an inferred proposition can be restated in a quasi-deductive form by identifying the generalisation upon which the inference depends. (...) A datum or a proposition can be evidence if and only if it alters the probability, positively or negatively, of a proposition to be inferred. In order to demonstrate that an evidential proposition is relevant, an analyst must be able to identify and articulate a generalisation that justifies the claim that the evidential proposition alters the probability of an inferred proposition. This chapter develops these ideas and presents a method of generalisation-analysis. It also argues that generalisation-analysis is a tool in the field of evidence that could be useful in analysing and critiquing arguments in many disciplines. (shrink)

A new relationship between Aboriginal peoples and other Canadians is central for Canada's future, but the issues it presents may also be a portent of things to come for us all with increasing globalization. What is entailed in fashioning a viable and just Canadian society and state in which distinct Aboriginal peoples or nations can not only survive and break out of a colonial past, but flourish, especially in an increasingly global economy with its homogenizing pressures? This essay provides an (...) overview of the issues. Following a brief historical survey of the relationship between the Aboriginal peoples and the newcomers in Canada, the political and economic challenges in forming a more just relationship are outlined together with some of the competing visions, social policy options, and current mechanisms for effecting such. Next, some of the pressures on civil society and needed changes this generates are noted. Finally, the religious dimension in all of this, especially the peculiar situation of the churches, is briefly described, including the churches' tainted past, and yet their promising new role emerging as they come to terms with this past and seek to forge new relationships within their own communities. (shrink)