Difference between revisions of "Fact"

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A '''fact''' is a concept, statement, thing, sceintific law, or event that has been unequivocally (indisputably) proven to be true. Facts are generally held to be [[mind-independent]], i.e. they would continue to be the case whether or not anyone believed them, or indeed whether or not there were any minds to believe them in the first place.
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A '''fact''' is a statistic, datum, or event that is objective, observable, and recordable.  
  
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In logic, a [[Statement (logic)|statement]] has a [[truth value]], that is to say it is ''capable of being true '''or''' false''. Not all statements are of this form, as we can see below:
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Facts are used as evidence to make claims. Facts are generally held to be [[mind-independent]], i.e. they would continue to be the case whether or not anyone believed them, or indeed whether or not there were any minds to believe them in the first place.
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[[Category:Philosophy]]
  
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1. Table [[salt]] is comprised of [[sodium]] and [[chlorine]].
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Facts are different from theories, which attempt to explain trends in facts. Facts are also different from opinions, which are [[Subjectivism|subjective]] interpretations of facts.
  
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2. Table salt is comprised of [[zinc]] and chlorine.
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In history and journalism, "facts" refer to recorded, independently-verifiable events or statistics. In science, "facts" are observations or data, (fact: at sea-level, water boils at 100 degrees [[Celsius]], while other liquids boil at different temperatures) and theories are built to explain facts (theory: why water boils at 100 C, why different liquids have different boiling points).
  
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3. [[The Beatles]] were great.
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During The 18th century [[Enlightenment]], the statement "facts are stubborn things" was widely repeated. It encapsulates an Enlightenment belief that incontrovertible empirical data could be found on any question and that such facts would irresistibly lead public opinion in an enlightened direction by dispelling the mystifications and superstitions of earlier, barbarous ages. In the Early Republic in the United States, the phrase was often directed against the allegedly dangerous speculations and innovations of Jacobin-Jeffersonian philosophy.<ref>Jeff Pasley, "Department of Not Giving John Adams Too Much Credit" in ''Common-Place (july 2009) [http://www.common-place.org/pasley/?p=1593 online]</ref>
  
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4. The Beatles were rubbish.
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There is some evidence that human psychology is such that facts often do not drive beliefs as much as beliefs drive one's willingness to listen to certain facts.<ref>Joe Keohane, Boston Globe, July 11, 2010. ''[http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/?page=1 How facts backfire]''</ref>
  
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Statements 1 & 2 clearly have truth values of T & F respectively. We can therefore assert statement 1 as a fact. In the unlikely case of disagreement, there would be a straighforward recourse to direct experimental [[proof]].
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For example, it is an ''opinion'' that the [[homosexual agenda]] is not harmful, while it is a fact that the average gay man has a life expectancy far less than that of a straight man.
  
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Statements 3 & 4, however, are more problematic. Whatever the weight of support for either side, there remains the possibility of two optimally informed and impartial judges failing to agree (see [[cognitive command]]). Without recourse to any direct method of proof, neither statement can be said to have a truth value and thus neither can be asserted as a fact.
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==Quotes About Facts==
  
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== Disputed entities, terms and properties ==
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John Adams wrote: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." <ref>John Adams, 'Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,' December 1770 The Quotations Page</ref>
  
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Assertions of fact become more difficult in cases where an opponent has room to question the validity of an entity, term or property contained within the statement. If we consider the following statements:
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"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."—[[Oscar Wilde]]
  
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1. [[Pol Pot]] was [[evil]].
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"First get your facts; then you can distort them at your leisure."—[[Mark Twain]]
  
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2. [[God]] created the [[universe]].
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"We all know that facts have a liberal bias."—[[Stephen Colbert]]
  
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3. 5 + 6 = 11
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== See also ==
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* [[Proven fact]]
  
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4. Man evolved from [[ape]]s.
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==Further reading==
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* Pasley, Jeff. "Department of Not Giving John Adams Too Much Credit" in ''Common-Place (July 2009) [http://www.common-place.org/pasley/?p=1593 online]; shows the slogan was very widely used in the 18th century.
  
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Statement 1 is an apparently straightforward identification of a documented historical figure (Pol Pot) with the property of evil. In order for it to be true, however, a proponent must provide some non-trivial account of the property of evil and how we might come to know it. This is far from easy. Providing a exhaustive list of Pol Pot's "evil" deeds would be insufficient - indeed, it begs the question of how we know those deeds to be evil themselves.
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==References==
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<references/>
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In statement 2, the roles are reversed. This time it is the very existence of the subject-entity that allows room for dispute. As all philosophical "proofs" of the existence of God are highly controversial, if not outright failures, the usual fallback position is an assertion of [[faith]]. As it is equally impossible to disprove the existence of God (see [[verification transcendence]]), a [[stalemate]] is the result.
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Statement 3 seems pretty straightforward, but if one is working in base 16, it is false (in base 16, 5 + 6 = B, and 8 + 9 = 11).
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Statement 4 requires a much more in-depth investigation and understanding of the scientific reasons why the statement would be interpreted as true or false.
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Latest revision as of 11:21, September 4, 2018

A fact is a statistic, datum, or event that is objective, observable, and recordable.

Facts are used as evidence to make claims. Facts are generally held to be mind-independent, i.e. they would continue to be the case whether or not anyone believed them, or indeed whether or not there were any minds to believe them in the first place.

Facts are different from theories, which attempt to explain trends in facts. Facts are also different from opinions, which are subjective interpretations of facts.

In history and journalism, "facts" refer to recorded, independently-verifiable events or statistics. In science, "facts" are observations or data, (fact: at sea-level, water boils at 100 degrees Celsius, while other liquids boil at different temperatures) and theories are built to explain facts (theory: why water boils at 100 C, why different liquids have different boiling points).

During The 18th century Enlightenment, the statement "facts are stubborn things" was widely repeated. It encapsulates an Enlightenment belief that incontrovertible empirical data could be found on any question and that such facts would irresistibly lead public opinion in an enlightened direction by dispelling the mystifications and superstitions of earlier, barbarous ages. In the Early Republic in the United States, the phrase was often directed against the allegedly dangerous speculations and innovations of Jacobin-Jeffersonian philosophy.[1]

There is some evidence that human psychology is such that facts often do not drive beliefs as much as beliefs drive one's willingness to listen to certain facts.[2]

For example, it is an opinion that the homosexual agenda is not harmful, while it is a fact that the average gay man has a life expectancy far less than that of a straight man.

Quotes About Facts

John Adams wrote: "Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence." [3]

"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."—Oscar Wilde

"First get your facts; then you can distort them at your leisure."—Mark Twain

"We all know that facts have a liberal bias."—Stephen Colbert

See also

Further reading

  • Pasley, Jeff. "Department of Not Giving John Adams Too Much Credit" in Common-Place (July 2009) online; shows the slogan was very widely used in the 18th century.

References

  1. ↑ Jeff Pasley, "Department of Not Giving John Adams Too Much Credit" in Common-Place (july 2009) online
  2. ↑ Joe Keohane, Boston Globe, July 11, 2010. How facts backfire
  3. ↑ John Adams, 'Argument in Defense of the Soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials,' December 1770 The Quotations Page
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