{"id":5699,"date":"2021-10-25T13:37:16","date_gmt":"2021-10-25T11:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/?p=5699"},"modified":"2025-05-01T18:50:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T16:50:08","slug":"testimony-e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/testimony-e\/","title":{"rendered":"Testimony"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #ff0000;\">TESTIMONY<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>A testimony is a special type of authoritative statement, see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/authoritye\/\">authority<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&#8211; Preconditions:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">The issue <strong>I<\/strong> under discussion is related to an event <strong>E. <\/strong>Criminal or not, <strong>E<\/strong> has an exceptional character.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Person <strong>W<\/strong> was in a position to see or hear something about the event <strong>E<\/strong> in question.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Some discussants have limited or no access to <strong>E, <\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Thus, in the discussion <strong>I, W<\/strong> qualifies as a witness to <strong>E.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&#8211; Essential Conditions: Witnesses are subject to a special duty of truthfulness:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>W<\/strong> says <strong>T<\/strong>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>T<\/strong> is relevant to <strong>I<\/strong>. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">[In justice, <strong>T<\/strong> swears to <em>tell<\/em> the <em>truth<\/em>, the <em>whole truth<\/em>, and <em>nothing but<\/em> the <em>truth<\/em>.]<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>T <\/strong>is presumed to be true<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">1. Criticis<span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">ms<\/span> of Testimony<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><em>Discourses<\/em> <em>against testimony <\/em>of any kind are based on two options, the examination of the fact, the questioning of the witness. These discourses can be schematized as follows.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">&#8211;<\/span> The fact is in itself is not credible, not possible, not probable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">&#8211; The witness is not credible because:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">He could not have seen <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">or<\/span> heard what he claims to have seen or heard<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">He is partial, biased, or lying; he has been manipulated; he has been corrupted.<br \/>\n<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">He is not competent about <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">tin<\/span> the matter.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">In other cases where <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">his tes<\/span>timony could be verified, it turned out to be false.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">Other witnesses say otherwise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">He is<\/span> the only witness, so his testimony is not acceptable (<em>testis unus, testis nullus<\/em>, \u201cone testimony, no testimony\u201d).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Testimony and criticism of testimony play a particularly important social role <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">in matters of law and faith.<\/span> They also play an important private role in everyday matters, <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">as<\/span> they underlie the narratives of witnesses to critical life events.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">2. Testimony in Rhetorical Argumentation<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the <em>Topics<\/em>, Cicero clearly posits judicial testimony as part of the data on which the court must rely, as opposed to rhetorical evidence, see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/technical-and-non-technical-evidence-e\/\">\u201ctechnical\u201d and \u201cnon-technical\u201d<\/a>. According to the modern democratic concept of testimony, witnesses are in principle accorded the same status; they and their testimony are subject to the same critical scrutiny.<br \/>\nThe ancient rhetorical concept of testimony is quite different. According to Cicero, in Roman <span style=\"background-color: #cc99ff;\">legal<\/span> practice, the weight of a testimony is <em>a priori<\/em> proportional to the social authority granted to the witness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">For our present purpose, we define testimony as everything that is brought in from some external circumstance in order to gain conviction. Now it is not every sort of person who is worthy of consideration as a witness. To gain conviction, authority is sought; but authority is given by one\u2019s nature or by circumstances. Authority from one\u2019s nature or character depends largely on virtue; in circumstances there are many things which lend authority, such as talent, wealth, age, good luck, skill, experience, necessity, and even occasional fortuitous events. (Cicero, <em>Top<\/em>., XIX, 73; Hubbell, p. 439)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In this quotation, the \u201ccircumstances\u201d mentioned include basic elements that determine the social status of the witness. \u201cNecessity\u201d refers to testimony obtained under duress and torture. The expression \u201cfortuitous events\u201d refers to emotional speech, emotion being considered a guarantee of truth.<\/p>\n<p>In the Roman world, in fact, testimony was actually guaranteed not only by a thorough examination of the witness and the alleged fact but also by a preliminary oath and the precise social status of the witness, if a citizen, or by the amount of pain the witness could endure, if a slave. The use of torture to obtain true information is now morally condemned, and practically recognized as an ineffective means of obtaining information, \u201c<em>Beer, cigarettes work better than waterboarding<\/em>\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The concept of testimony in the ancient texts covers a wider field than personal testimony about a particular fact. Testimony can also guarantee principles, and in this case, the witnesses are \u201cthe ancient authors, the oracles, the proverbs, the sayings of the illustrious contemporaries\u201d (Vidal 2000, p. 60).<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: 12pt;\">3. Witness in matters of faith<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The capacity of truth to be more compelling than any kind of pain is inherent in the Christian tradition of martyrdom. <strong>The word <em>martyr<\/em><\/strong> comes from the Greek word for <em>witness<\/em>; the martyr is a witness to the divine word. Martyrdom is a kind of torture; truth is confirmed through torture. As Pascal says: \u201cI believe only those stories whose witnesses let themselves be slaughtered\u201d (<em>Meditations<\/em>, p. 117).<\/p>\n<p>The validation of testimony by martyrdom leads to a paradox. People have been tortured and killed for a variety of beliefs and values; Giordano Bruno for example is a \u201cmartyr of atheism\u201d. Therefore, the proposal must be reversed, and, according to Saint Augustine, \u201c<em>it is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr<\/em>.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> If the cause is bad (heresy), the so-called \u201cmartyr\u201d is an offender and has been punished as such.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff;\"><strong>4. Confession and Testimony <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Denials are weak arguments for innocence, but confessions are strong arguments for guilt. If it contradicts a denial, a testimony is believed over and above the <em>denial<\/em>. Consider, however, the case of a person who confesses to murder against a trustworthy witness who declares that he materially could not have committed the crime he just confessed to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Confession is a testimony against oneself, but should <em>confessions<\/em> be trusted over contrary <em>testimony? C<\/em><\/strong>an I validly testify to myself, positively or negatively?<br \/>\nThe Evangelist John reports that Christ said no,<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIf I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.\u201d (John 5:31)<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a>; see <a href=\"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/relation-e\/\">relations, \u00a72 Reflexivity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #800000; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">5. The Paradox of \u00ab\u00a0Weak\u00a0\u00bb Testimony<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Latin word <em>testis<\/em> means \u201cwitness\u201d and \u201ctesticle\u201d. In Roman culture, as in some contemporary cultures, testimony is reserved for men; a woman&rsquo;s testimony, if allowed at all, is considered weaker and less credible than a man&rsquo;s. A single testimony of a man for example, has the same value as the testimony of several women.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, <strong>if a text claims only the <em>testimony of a woman <\/em>to support a fact, it can be argued that this is indirect evidence for the authenticity of that fact<\/strong>, because, if the fact were invented, the text would have claimed to be supported by <strong>the testimony of <em>men<\/em><\/strong>. This argument is developed from the Gospels, which, in reference to the resurrection of Christ, mention that <em>women<\/em> discovered the empty tomb. The cultural <em>weakness<\/em> of their testimony is taken as indirect <em>strong<\/em> evidence for the fact.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> \u201cMattis to Trump: beer, cigarettes work better than waterboarding\u201d. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2016\/11\/23\/mattis-trump-beer-cigarettes-work-better-waterboarding.html\">http:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2016\/11\/23\/mattis-trump-beer-cigarettes-work-better-waterboarding.html<\/a> (05\/07\/2017)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Augustine, <em>Second Discourse on Psalm 34<\/em>. In<em> St; Augustine on the Psalms<\/em>. Trans. and An. by S. Hegbin, and F. Korrigan, Vol. II, Ps. 30-37. New York &amp; Mahwah: The Newman Press, p. 220.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> New King James Version (NKJV); Quoted after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+5%3A31&amp;version=NKJV\">https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+5%3A31&amp;version=NKJV<\/a> (05\/05\/2017)<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TESTIMONY A testimony is a special type of authoritative statement, see authority: &#8211; Preconditions: The issue I under discussion is related to an event E. Criminal or not, E has an exceptional character. Person W was in a position to see or hear something about the event E in question. Some discussants have limited or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5699"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14158,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5699\/revisions\/14158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icar.cnrs.fr\/dicoplantin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}