Peruzzi, Edoardo and De Benedetto, Matteo (2026) Higher-Order Evidence and Legal Cross-Examination.
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Abstract
This paper aims to show the central role that higher-order evidence plays in an established cultural practice in our society, namely, legal cross-examination. First, we will
show how legal cross-examination can be epistemologically reconstructed as an epistemic practice that has the higher-order defeat of a witness’s testimony as its main goal. Then, we will discuss how different paradigmatic cases of successful cross-examination arguably instantiate different mechanisms of higher-order defeat that have been described in the epistemological literature. We will argue that our analysis further demonstrates the significance of higher-order evidence as an epistemic phenomenon and provides a prima facie case for a pluralist view of higher-order defeat.
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| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | |||||||||
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| Additional Information: | Synthese, 148 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-026-05502-3. | |||||||||
| Keywords: | higher-order evidence, legal epistemology, cross-examination | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. Edoardo Peruzzi | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 01 Apr 2026 12:38 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 01 Apr 2026 12:38 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 28838 | |||||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Science and Society General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science |
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| Date: | February 2026 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28838 |
Available Versions of this Item
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Higher-Order Evidence and Legal Cross-Examination. (deposited 07 Feb 2026 19:29)
- Higher-Order Evidence and Legal Cross-Examination. (deposited 01 Apr 2026 12:38) [Currently Displayed]
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