User:Stefanson
Verifiability[edit]
Because of its possible general interest, and its illustration of some of my views, I wish to present a selection out of my contribution to Wikipedia_talk:Verifiability. If you have any comments, please do in on my Talk-page (but see the last lines below). I perceived in Talk:Bernard_Madoff (July 26-30) that it would be fruitful to expose a deeper and wider conception of verifiability that the one which seems to rely upon a (probably unconscious) problematic doctrine of so called logical positivism. In particular, the interpretation of Wikipedia policy seems to me to trust excessively the supposed reliability of the source and the number of sources while downplaying the importance of diversity in pluralism, and dialectics as conceived since Plato. This is aggravated by the perceived danger of lawsuits against Wikipedia, especially in WP:BLP which may results in the deletion of any controversial data, going for "the majority". It would be interesting, for instance, to check how the page on Bernard Madoff developed up to December 9, 2008 in face of available data from reliable sources on (failed) SEC inquiries up to that date. I claim that the events like Madoff investment scandal may be facilitated by superficial conceptions of verifiability divorced from the quest for truth as seemingly supported by many if not all Wikipedia administrators. To further a possible discussion I adduce a selection from Talk on Bernard Madoff related to verifiability which I think are not always considered:
From Qualifying sources
- From Qualifying sources
For statements about which reliable sources are in conflict or that are matters of differing opinion, the text should include sufficient context to qualify the statement or attribute its source. For example (from Super-recursive algorithm): Martin Davis has described some of Burgin's claims as "misleading". In a case like this, it is important for the text to attribute this opinion to its source, so it does not appear that Wikipedia is making this criticism of Burgin's claims. See Wikipedia:Neutral Point of View.
The policy requires that where multiple or conflicting perspectives exist within a topic, each must be presented fairly. None of the views should be given undue weight or asserted to be "the truth". Instead, all of the various significant published viewpoints are made accessible to the reader, and not just the most popular...Assert facts, including facts about opinions—but do not assert the opinions themselves...
- From Burden of evidence
The source cited must unambiguously support the information as it is presented in the article.
While proper attribution of a perspective to a source satisfies the minimal requirements of Wikipedia's neutral point of view, there is an additional editorial responsibility for including only those quotes and perspectives which further the aim of creating a verifiable and neutral Wikipedia article. Quotes that are controversial or potentially misleading need to be properly contextualized to avoid unintentional endorsement or deprecation. What is more, just because a quote is accurate and verifiably attributed to a particular source does not mean that the quote must necessarily be included in an article...
Because of other duties I am not sure that I will be able to follow a further possible discussion on this: it should not be interpreted as a lack of interest and commitment. I will be happy if this can contribute to some reflections and possible improvements of this project article.