Fact
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The word fact in English corresponds with a number of different meanings, some of them highly specific, depending on their context.
\"Fact\" in philosophy
In philosophy, a fact is the state of affairs in reality that corresponds to a true proposition in a human language. The relationship between non-trivially true statements (i.e. not tautologies) and facts is one of the provinces of epistemology.Any non-trivial true statements about reality is necessarily an abstraction composed of a complex of objects and properties or relations. For example, the fact described by the true statement "Paris is the capital city of France" necessarily implies that:
- There truly is such a place as Paris;
- There truly is such a place as France;
- There are such things as capital cities;
- France has a government;
- The government of France is legitimate, and has the power to define its capital city;
- The French government has chosen Paris to be the capital.
\"Fact\" in science
In science 'fact' is an objective and verifiable observation. It is usually contrasted to a theory, which is an explanation of or interpretation of facts. In the philosophy of science, it has often been called into question (famously by Thomas Kuhn, but by others as well) whether scientific facts are always "theory-laden" to some degree (as knowing what facts to measure, and how to measure them, requires some presupposition about the facts themselves). In the field of science studies, "scientific facts" are generally understood to be entities which exist within complex social structures of trust, accreditation, institutions, and individual practices.\"Fact\" used colloquially
Outside of science, a word 'fact' may be associated with some of the following:
- An honest observation confirmed by widely respected observers.
- *Errors are common in the interpretation of the meaning of observations.
- *Power is frequently used to force the politically correct interpretation of an observation.
- A repeatedly observed regularity.
- *One observation of any phenomenon does not necessarily make it a fact. Repeatability of an observation is required usually by using the stated procedures or operational definitions of a phenomenon.
- Something thought to be actual as opposed to invented.
- Something concrete used as a basis for further interpretation.
- Information about a particular subject.
- Something believed to be the case.
Statements of fact
A statement of fact or a factual claim is a statement that is presented as an accurate representation of a situation, event, or condition, and that is capable of being either proved or disproved.If a factual claim is incorrect, then it is called a mistake or an error (if the person making the statement believed it to be correct) or a lie (if the person making the statement did not believe it). A factual claim shown to be correct through examination is accepted as being supported. A factual claim that was believed to be true may later shown to be false (disproved), and a factual claim believed to have been disproved may later shown to be true. A fact that was once a fact and hence becomes disproven may once again become a fact if the factual evidence supporting its validity become increasingly factual in light of new and, ultimately, factual evidence. Supporting evidence may become realised for a fact long after the fact itself was first established and, thus, a factual claim must be as fact once the Popperian elements of falsification have been exhausted - a process that never ends - to end with a fact accepted in the social. A belief that cannot be proved or disproved is an opinion.
References
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