Charting or Diagramming Inference from Evidence

Step 1:

Identify an item of evidence e

Step 2:

Identify a factual proposition h (issue, hypothesis, conjecture)

Step 3:

Identify an inference or inferences --> from evidence e to factual proposition h

Suggested Step 4:

Identify the notions, generalizations, ideas, etc., a that seem to support or may support each inference -->, a possible conclusion from some item of evidence

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If the following sort of scheme for visualizing inference from evidence suits you, use it:

{h or not-h}

_________

a

e

Here are symbols that you can cut and paste to create your inference diagrams:

{ } brackets to describe a factual issue as, e.g., {"dead" or "not-dead}"

Use arrows such as the above to designate inferences from evidence or a factual proposition to another factual proposition.

The leaning arrow found above is provided to remind you that two or more items of evidence (or intermediate factual propopositions, hypotheses, etc.) may converge on a single factual hypothesis (proposition, conjecture, or issue).

Finally, it is sometimes useful to draw a horizontal line under each factual conjecture, proposition, or issue. If you want to use such a horizontal line, here is a horizontal line that you can copy and paste:

Feel free to modify the above symbols or use entitely different symbols. For example, you may prefer to encapsulate the factual issue in a box or a circle rather than within brackets.

Or you may prefer to designate the factual proposition with a single statement (e.g., "death") and devise some other way of indicating the possibility that the evidence or some intermediate factual proposition supports the negation of the statement (e.g., "non-death") more than the affirmative statement (e.g., "death").

Caveat: Adding symbols or notation always threatens to confuse rather than enlighten. It takes mental work to remember symbols and notation. So always follow the sound maxim: KISS ("keep it simple stupid").