Evidence

Based on a symposium held virtually at the American Philosophical Society in June 2020, Evidence: The Use and Misuse of Data brings together ten essays from scholars representing a host of disciplines from statistics through psychology and anthropology to examine the question of evidence and what it means. Authors examine the place of evidence across a host of research areas, including early psychiatric methods, ethnographic fieldwork, antebellum African American historical debates, and the historicization of artificial intelligence. While the essays delve into issues surrounding specific cases, an overarching theme emerges: that human judgment is essential in interpreting and evaluating evidence and that assessing evidence is a process. Scholars and students in all fields that build on empirical observation and its interpretation will find this issue of value. The volume includes an introduction by Linda Greenhouse and a conclusion by Robert M. Hauser.