This document discusses assessing the accuracy of information found online about the birth year of the philosopher Plato. It notes that different sources provide conflicting answers, ranging from 428 BCE to 423 BCE, with some not acknowledging the uncertainty. The document encourages students to carefully evaluate sources by considering who wrote it, when it was written, and why, as well as checking if the information is confirmed by multiple sources. It emphasizes that caution and cross-checking are important when using online information due to potential uncertainties or biases in sources.

1. Encouraging Critical
Thinking Online
Unit 1
Checking Facts and
Gathering Opinions

2. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• Find three websites that provide an
answer
• Fill in the boxes on the worksheet
for each of them
• Comment on any notable features
of the sites or answers you discover

3. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• Many sources give a date around
428 or 427 BCE
• See, for example, the biographies
of Plato from
– The Philosopher’s Lighthouse
– The European Graduate School

4. Extracts from The Philosopher’s Lighthouse
and the EGS website
http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/plato/biop.htm and http://www.egs.edu/resources/plato.html Retrieved 6 August

5. Extracts from The Philosopher’s Lighthouse
and the EGS website
http://library.thinkquest.org/18775/plato/biop.htm and http://www.egs.edu/resources/plato.html Retrieved 6 August

6. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• But it’s not hard to find sites that
give dates ranging from at least 430
to 423 BCE
– Bristol University course description
– Australian Psychological Society
newsletter

7. Extracts from Bristol University course
description and APS newsletter
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/philosophy/current/undergrad/pastunits/units0506/plato.html and
http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/paig_newsletter_1999.pdf Retrieved 6 August 2008

8. Extracts from Bristol University course
description and APS newsletter
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/philosophy/current/undergrad/pastunits/units0506/plato.html and
http://www.groups.psychology.org.au/Assets/Files/paig_newsletter_1999.pdf Retrieved 6 August 2008

9. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• Many sites will indicate that there’s
some uncertainty
– By preceding the date with ‘around’,
‘ca.’, ‘circa’ or similar
– By giving a range of dates – e.g. 428/7
BCE

10. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• However, many sites just give an
unqualified date
– St Andrews University Plato summary
– UsefulTrivia.com even gives a month
• Surprisingly few sites indicate the
full extent of the uncertainty

11. Extracts from St Andrews University
website and UsefulTrivia.com
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Plato.html and
http://www.usefultrivia.com/biographies/plato_001.html Retrieved 6 August 2008

12. Extracts from St Andrews University
website and UsefulTrivia.com
http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Plato.html and
http://www.usefultrivia.com/biographies/plato_001.html Retrieved 6 August 2008

13. In which year was the
philosopher Plato born?
• Some sites even contradict
themselves
– Bookrags.com’s extract from the
Encyclopedia of World Biography
– A previous version of the Wikipedia
article on Plato, online for at least
several months in 2008

14. Bookrags.com: Extract from
Encyclopedia of World Biography
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/plato/ Retrieved 4 June 2008

15. Bookrags.com: Extract from
Encyclopedia of World Biography
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/plato/ Retrieved 4 June 2008

16. Wikipedia article on Plato from 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Retrieved 4 June 2008

17. Wikipedia article on Plato from 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Retrieved 4 June 2008

18. Further questions to consider
• What reasons are given for
accepting one date rather than
another?
• In your view, which date has the
best claim to be the correct
answer? Why is this?

19. Summary - key things to note
• The precise answer to a question is not
always known
– But sources don’t always acknowledge that
this is the case
– Important qualifications can get omitted
• Caution and cross-checking of facts are
vital

20. 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

21. 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

22. Questions to ask when
assessing sources
• Who is the author?
– An individual or an institution?
– What are the author’s credentials?
• Is this a scholarly resource, or a
more informal one?
• How up to date is this source?

23. 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?

24. 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.)

25. 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?

26. This slideshow is part of
Encouraging Critical Thinking Online,
a set of free teaching resources
designed to develop
students’ analytic abilities,
using the Web as source material.
For the full set, please visit
Intute Training:
http://www.intute.ac.uk/training/