Three choices we can make about whether to believe a claim:
1. Accept the claim is true.
2. Reject the claim as false.
3. Suspend judgment.
*If you don't believe it DON'T believe it is false.
*If there is a lack of evidence DON'T think the evidence is false.
With the "new MacBook Pro" ad we can either accept, reject, or suspend judgment on the claim of "State-of-the-art processors. All-new graphics. Breakthrough high speed I/O."
Part B: Criteria for Accepting or Rejecting Claims (in order of importance)
1. Personal experience
-Through personal experience, I own a Macbook Pro. Having it for almost two years, I can say that the laptop is great. I've noticed its phenomenal graphics and its high speed compared to other laptops. That means, I can definitely trust this ad of the new MacBook Pro being even better.
*We can reject the claim if we know it is false from our own experience except when we have a good reason to doubt our memory or perception; there is a contradiction between other experiences of ours, and there's a good argument against the claim.
2. Other sources
a. Accept claim made by someone we know and trust who is an authority on this kind of claim.
-In these terms, I don't know the person who made this claim and so I can't trust it.
b. Accept claim made by a reliable authority whom we can trust as an expert on this certain kind of claim and no incentive to mislead.
-I don't know if the person who made this ad is a reliable authority.
c. Accept claim in a reliable journal or reference source.
-This is not a reliable journal or reference source.
d. Accept a claim in a media outlet that is usually reliable.
-This is not a media outlet.
*e. Reject a claim that contradicts other claims that we know to be true.
-I don't know any other claims (that I know to be true) that this claim can contradict.
By order of importance, I can accept the claim because of my positive personal experience with my MacBook Pro.
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