Abstract

PAEZ, Andrés. Testimonial Evidence and the Epistemology of Testimony. Isonomía [online]. 2014, n.40, pp.95-118. ISSN 1405-0218.

During the last few years, the question regarding the justification of our testimonial beliefs has become central in epistemology. Few of these discussions, however, have found their way to evidence law. In this paper I analyze witness testimony in the light of these reflections aiming to uncover the epistemological suppositions that underlie some procedural principles. Specifically, I examine American and Colombian legislation within the context of the dispute between reductionism and anti-reductionism about testimony. In the end I suggest an epistemological approach that restates the terms of the dispute, and which has important implications for the assessment of witness testimony in judicial processes.

Keywords : testimony; epistemology; testimonial evidence; reductionism; credibility; relevance; explanatory power; probative force.

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