Monday, January 25, 2010

Justification vs. explanation

If you hold a belief, you must be ready to justify it. You may explain why your belief is true or how you know you know. Don't confuse explanations justifications. A justification takes the form of an argument. For example, you try to justify why it's wrong to verbally abuse a child. On the other hand, an explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the context and consequences of those facts.