Welcome to Identifying and Comparing Perspectives
In the Thinking Skills exam, especially in Paper 2 (Critical Thinking), you won't just be looking at one single story. Instead, you will be given several "sources" of evidence. These sources are like pieces of a puzzle, but there is a catch: each piece is colored by the person who gave it. This is what we call a perspective.
Understanding perspectives is not about deciding who is "right" or "wrong" immediately. It is about understanding where someone is coming from and how their viewpoint relates to others. Let's dive in!
1. What is a "Perspective"?
A perspective is a particular way of looking at a situation or an issue. It is often shaped by a person's role, their background, their goals, or even their emotions.
Analogy: Imagine a car accident at an intersection.
- Driver A might see it as "the other car appearing out of nowhere."
- A bystander might see it as "Driver A was speeding."
- A car manufacturer might focus on "the safety features that protected the passengers."
All three are looking at the same event, but their perspectives are different because their interests and positions are different.
How to Identify a Perspective
To identify a perspective in a piece of evidence, ask yourself these three questions:
1. Who is speaking? (Are they an expert? An eyewitness? A politician?)
2. What is their goal? (Are they trying to inform, persuade, defend themselves, or sell something?)
3. What do they focus on? (What facts do they include, and what do they conveniently leave out?)
Quick Tip: Look for "loaded" language—words that carry a lot of emotion. If a source calls a new law "revolutionary," their perspective is likely very positive. If they call it "dangerous," their perspective is negative.
2. Comparing Perspectives
Once you have identified the perspectives in Source A and Source B, the exam will often ask you to compare them. This means looking for how they relate to each other. Under the official syllabus, there are specific ways pieces of evidence can interact:
A. Corroboration (Agreement)
Two perspectives corroborate when they agree on the same facts or support the same conclusion. If an independent scientist and a local resident both say the river is polluted, their evidence corroborates.
B. Inconsistency or Contradiction (Disagreement)
Evidence is inconsistent or contradictory when one source says "X" and the other says "Not X." They cannot both be true at the same time.
Example: Source A says the meeting started at \(9:00\) AM. Source B says it started at \(10:30\) AM.
C. Consistency (Not Inconsistent)
Sometimes, two sources don't exactly say the same thing, but they don't disagree either. We call this being consistent.
Example: Source A says the cake was chocolate. Source B says the cake was delicious. They are talking about different aspects, but they are "not inconsistent" because both can be true.
Key Takeaway: When comparing, always look for both the similarities and the differences in what the sources are emphasizing.
3. Why Perspectives Matter (The "Why" Behind the Evidence)
In Section A of Paper 2, you aren't just identifying perspectives for fun. You are doing it to judge the credibility of the evidence. (Note: For more on this, see the chapter on "Assess credibility of evidence").
When you find two different perspectives, consider:
Vested Interest: Does the person have something to gain (like money or a better reputation) by presenting a certain perspective?
Example: A CEO of a company will have a different perspective on "company profits" than a factory worker struggling to pay rent. The CEO has a vested interest in making the company look successful.
Neutrality vs. Bias: A neutral perspective is one that doesn't "take sides" and tries to look at all the facts fairly. A biased perspective is one-sided, often ignoring evidence that doesn't fit the speaker's goal.
4. Step-by-Step: How to Answer "Compare" Questions
Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! Follow these steps to build a high-scoring answer:
Step 1: Identify the focus. What specific event or claim are you being asked about?
Step 2: Quote or paraphrase. State clearly what Source A says about it.
Step 3: Connect. Use a connecting word (like "Similarly," "Conversely," or "On the other hand").
Step 4: Contrast. State clearly what Source B says about the same thing.
Step 5: Conclude the relationship. State whether they corroborate, contradict, or are simply consistent with each other.
Common Mistake to Avoid: Simply summarizing Source A and then summarizing Source B without ever comparing them. You must show the relationship between them to get full marks!
5. Summary and Quick Review
Key Terms to Remember:
- Perspective: A viewpoint shaped by a person's role or interests.
- Corroborate: When two sources agree.
- Inconsistent: When two sources provide conflicting information.
- Vested Interest: A person’s personal stake in an issue that might bias their perspective.
Quick Review Box:
- Perspectives are found by looking at who is speaking and why.
- Evidence can agree (corroborate), disagree (contradict), or just be "not inconsistent."
- Differences in perspective often point toward bias or vested interest.
- In the exam, always use specific details from the sources to support your comparison.
Did you know? In Thinking Skills, it is not considered a "weakness" for an argument to be one-sided. However, when evaluating evidence, identifying that one-sidedness (the perspective) helps you decide how much weight to give that evidence!