EVALUATING INDIVIDUAL SOURCES: START WITH SYMPATHY
"In studying a philosopher, the right attitude is neither reverence nor contempt, but first a kind of hypothetical sympathy,
until it is possible to know what it feels like to believe in his theories, and only then a revival of the critical attitude, which
should resemble, as far as possible, the state of mind of a person abandoning opinions which he has hitherto held. Contempt
interferes with the first part of this process, and reverence with the second.”
—Betrand Russell, The History of Western Philosophy
Sympathetic Questions:
• what is the author’s intent or goal for writing?
• what kind of article is the author writing?
• be aware of genre (e.g. lit. review, theory, empirical)
• be aware of field (e.g. sociology, health science).
• what knowledge does this article impart?