Whats the word or phrase for Not knowing if its real or not because we seen it on T.V or the news?

Question

Example: we seen a man land on the moon on T.V? but how do We know its real??

another example: oh there was an earthquake at so and so. Its real because we seen it on the news??? whats the word for not having proof that so and so is real

Answer 1

Perhaps the word you are looking for is either 'skepticism' or (if you go too far) 'cynicism.'

'Gullibility' is when you automatically assume everything you hear is true.
'Cynicism' is when you automatically assume everything you hear is false.
You need to find a middle ground. A healthy skepticism is a good thing ... but you also need to be able to evaluate your sources and think logically so that you can reach some conclusions you can live with. That does not mean that you are married to those conclusions ... if new evidence or information come up that contradicts it, then you reevaluate.

For example, if you see a man land on the moon on TV, it's OK to question whether it's real or someone is lying to you ... but at some point you have to ask *why* someone would go through the extraordinary effort of lying to you. What do they have to gain? How many people would have to be in on the lie? How difficult would it be to maintain the lie, and maintain the secret?

There's an old saying: "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
Claiming that the moon landings are a hoax is an *extraordinary* claim ... a conspiracy so vast and complex, involving three Presidents (two Democrats, one Republican), thousands of engineers, technicians, government officials, astronauts, and all of their families ... the deaths of three astronauts, etc. Such an extraordinary claim requires some extraordinary evidence. Otherwise, you just have to reach the conclusion that what you saw on TV was real.

Similarily, if you see a report about an earthquake, it's OK to question it. But again, you have to ask, why would anyone go through the huge effort to fake that information?

Skepticism is healthy. Cynicism is sad.

Answer 2

Well, one key distinction is inference (or induction) versus deduction. Deduction refers to logic and mathematics, and is, in a sense, the only stuff we really know for certain, no doubt, 100%. All the rest of what we know is an inference from evidence, whether a lot of evidence or a little. When you see a man land on the moon on TV, it provides very strong evidence that it happened. Not 100%, because conspiracy theories, although crazy, are still possible. But even non-TV things are inference too. Such as "knowing" that the sun will rise tomorrow on the basis of the fact it always has so far. Or "knowing" that gravity will continue pulling us down.

But this distinction may be more general than what you were looking for.

Answer 3

Talking about authoritative knowledge? One someone tells you about. Empirical knowledge is gained through experiment or first hand experience.

Epistemology is study of how people gain knowledge and learn things or study of how you know what you know. Look up knowledge or epistemology or something at Wikipedia.

Answer 4

reality? Fiction or non - fiction?