One of the vital concepts in a trial is the presumption of innocence; or in other words being considered innocent until proven guilty. Under this principle, the onus for proving guilt lies on the prosecution. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt, is in many ways quite similar. You don’t exactly know the point someone is trying to make or even know enough yourself to make a reasoned judgment in which case you decide to assume the point is favourable or at the very least worth thinking about. In a society where we don’t have the benefit of the doubt, it becomes very difficult for originality of ideas and real discourse to occur. So should we all be given the benefit of the doubt?