Reflecting on the actual claim, that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the assassination of JFK, we have analyzed the evidence and determined whether or not the claim or one of the alternate hypotheses are accurate, based on the Criteria of Adequacy.
As outlined in the textbook, "How to Think About Weird Things: Critical Thinking for a New Age" by Schick and Vaughn, the Criteria for Adequacy of a claim are:
1. TESTABILITY -- "A hypothesis is scientific only if it is testable, that is, only if it predicts something more than what is predicted by the background theory alone" (Schick 180).
2. FRUITFULNESS -- "Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that is the most fruitful, that is, makes the most successful novel predictions" (Schick 184).
3. SCOPE -- "Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that has the greatest scope, that is, that explains and predicts the most diverse phenomena" (Schick 186).
4. SIMPLICITY -- "Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the simplest one, that is, the one that makes the fewest assumptions" (Schick 188).
5. CONSERVATISM -- "Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that is the most conservative, that is, the one that fits best with established beliefs" (Schick 189).
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1. The evidence presented that is "against the Lone-Gunman Theory," aka Exhibit A, has a high testability rank in that the technological advances of science allow the researchers to test the bullet evidence from the crime scene. This article of evidence has the highest rank in terms of testability and reliability on scientific proof for the claim than all other forms of evidence, as the rest tend to be based on rationale and the will to believe in the evidence. The evidence here comes from a highly reliable source, Texas A&M University, which combines statistics and chemistry to complete the analysis and research. Therefore, with respect to this evidence, the claim is possible in that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone in the assassination of JFK.
2. As for fruitfulness, the evidential support offered from Exhibits B, C and the two videos strongly suggest that there was a government conspiracy that aided in the murder of the president and placed the blame on one person, who was immediately killed before a thorough investigation could take place. There is plenty of information and evidence available, such as these presented forms of evidence, that suggest those involved in the assassination were trying to reveal an underlying conspiracy from the government and were silenced before any formal trial could take place. From recently surfaced paperwork to the confession of Jack Ruby, the alternative hypothesis 2 seems more appropriate of a possibility in the assassination of JFK than the first. Because the DA from Dallas County is presenting the physical evidence, it is difficult to refute the validity of these items' authenticity. That being said, the evidence from Exhibit B supports the government cover-up conspiracy theory, in addition to the first YouTube video posted. Exhibit C, while it relates to the evidence supporting the government conspiracy theory of Exhibit B, does not have the same quality or credibility to be included as reliable proof. There is no evidence of expert testimony and no solid foundation for the claims they are making, just generalizations.
3. The most diverse phenomena can be explained from the evidence in Exhibit B with the recent revelation of the JFK papers concerning a conversation between Oswald and Ruby. Because this conversation was supposedly recorded and not previously released, it draws the public to question the honesty of the government concerning this case, knowing that such important public information has been withheld from viewing for so long. Such display of deceit from the government on so sensitive of a subject in the nation's history causes one to lost faith in the government and to side with the hypothesis that the assassination was an inside job from within.
4. While it is a stretch to believe that the entire US government conspired to bring down the president in a public display, then to have his murderer killed on live television as well, it is still a simple possibility considering the social context and the effect of global policy on the death of the president. Most believe that it was because of Kennedy's views regarding Cuba that he was a target for the assassination and this generates enough motive as to why he was killed, making the alternative hypothesis 2 a more simple analysis.
5. Finally, based on the common understanding of the human condition and how easy it is for an individual to be killed, especially one holding a high position for the public, it is a conservative way of thinking that the evidence presented in support of the government conspiracy theory is possible and highly probable.
Further evidence by Michelle Winkler:
Based on all of the information that I have read/watched (eye witnesses videos, re-enactments, etc.), it is plausible that a select few in the Secret Service and/or other "Governmental Agency" plotted to assassinate JFK, that fateful day in Texas. Here's how I see it happening:
The route the President was going to drive was well published, this gives those who plotted to assassinate JFK plenty of time to plan the "how & where" the assassination would take place. It also gave them ample time to run "practice scenarios" and eliminate possibilities for error, and ensure a "safe" getaway. With that said, it would have been quite easy for an experienced sniper or snipers to prepare pick their location, time the shoot, and time their exit to safety. Lee Harvey Oswald was the patsy in this senario, he was part of the "plan," but not the "whole" plan. The secret service would for what seemed like no good reason, call back their agents, leaving the President vulnerable, LHO would fire the first shot, one that the rest of the group knew he could not make, this shot would mis-lead the police and authorities away from the sniper who was tasked to make the kill shots, and who was in a completely different location, who would have plenty of time to take the shots, and then pack up and leave. To ensure that LHO never had the opportunity to testify and to narrow the scope of the investigation, LHO was "taken out."
To save face, the subsequent investigation or "Warren Reports" would be pushed through to ensure a full cover up, as we know often happens within the government, and the general public would have to accept it as truth. Of course there are those of us who look to new evidence and would ask the questions the government doesn't want us to ask, they just call us "Conspiracy Theorist."
