Define the word facts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by experiments or other means.

For example, «This sentence contains words.» accurately describes a linguistic fact, and «The sun is a star» accurately describes an astronomical fact. Further, «Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States» and «Abraham Lincoln was assassinated» both accurately describe historical facts. Generally speaking, facts are independent of belief and of knowledge and opinion.

Facts are different from theories, values, and objects.^[1]

Etymology and usage

The word fact derives from the Latin factum. It was first used in English with the same meaning: «a thing done or performed» – a meaning now obsolete.^[2] The common usage of «something that has really occurred or is the case» dates from the mid-16th century.^[2]

Barbara J. Shapiro wrote in her book A Culture of Fact how the concept of a fact evolved, starting within the English legal tradition of the 16th century.^[3]

In 1870, Charles Sanders Peirce described in his book «The Fixation of Belief» four methods which people use to decide what they should believe: tenacity, method of authority, a priori and scientific method.^[4]

The term fact also indicates a matter under discussion deemed to be true or correct, such as to emphasize a point or prove a disputed issue; (e.g., «… the fact of the matter is …»).^[5][6]

Alternatively, fact may also indicate an allegation or stipulation of something that may or may not be a true fact,^[7] (e.g., «the author’s facts are not trustworthy»). This alternate usage, although contested by some, has a long history in standard English according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.^[8] The Oxford English Dictionary dates this use to 1729.^{[citation needed]}

Fact may also indicate findings derived through a process of evaluation, including review of testimony, direct observation, or otherwise; as distinguishable from matters of inference or speculation.^[9] This use is reflected in the terms «fact-find» and «fact-finder» (e.g., «set up a fact-finding commission»).^[10]

Facts may be checked by reason, experiment, personal experience, or may be argued from authority. Roger Bacon wrote «If in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics.»^[11]

In philosophy

In philosophy, the concept fact is considered in the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge, called epistemology and ontology, which studies concepts such as existence, being, becoming, and reality. Questions of objectivity and truth are closely associated with questions of fact. A fact can be defined as something that is the case, in other words, a state of affairs.^[12][13]

Facts may be understood as information, which makes a true sentence true: «A fact is, traditionally, the worldly correlate of a true proposition, a state of affairs whose obtaining makes that proposition true.»^[14] Facts may also be understood as those things to which a true sentence refers. The statement «Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system» is about the fact that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.^[15]

Correspondence and the slingshot argument

Pascal Engel’s version of the correspondence theory of truth explains that what makes a sentence true is that it corresponds to a fact.^[16] This theory presupposes the existence of an objective world.

The Slingshot argument claims to show that all true statements stand for the same thing, the truth value true. If this argument holds, and facts are taken to be what true statements stand for, then one arrives at the counter-intuitive conclusion that there is only one fact: the truth.^[17]

Compound facts

Any non-trivial true statement about reality is necessarily an abstraction composed of a complex of objects and properties or relations.»Facts possess internal structure, being complexes of objects and properties or relations» ^[14] For example, the fact described by the true statement «Paris is the capital city of France» implies that there is such a place as Paris, there is such a place as France, there are such things as capital cities, as well as that France has a government, that the government of France has the power to define its capital city, and that the French government has chosen Paris to be the capital, that there is such a thing as a place or a government, and so on. The verifiable accuracy of all of these assertions, if facts themselves, may coincide to create the fact, that Paris is the capital of France.

Difficulties arise, however, in attempting to identify the constituent parts of negative, modal, disjunctive, or moral facts.^[18]

Fact–value distinction

Moral philosophers since David Hume have debated whether values are objective, and thus factual. In A Treatise of Human Nature Hume pointed out there is no obvious way for a series of statements about what ought to be the case to be derived from a series of statements of what is the case. This is called the is–ought distinction. Those who insist there is a logical gulf between facts and values, such that it is fallacious to attempt to derive values (e.g., «it is good to give food to hungry people») from facts (e.g., «people will die if they can’t eat»), include G. E. Moore, who called attempting to do so the naturalistic fallacy.

Factual–counterfactual distinction

Factuality—what has occurred—can also be contrasted with counterfactuality: what might have occurred, but did not. A counterfactual conditional or subjunctive conditional is a conditional (or «if–then») statement indicating what would be the case if events had been other than they were. For example, «If Alexander had lived, his empire would have been greater than Rome.» This contrasts with an indicative conditional, which indicates what is (in fact) the case if its antecedent is (in fact) true—for example, «If you drink this, it will make you well.» Such sentences are important to modal logic, especially since the development of possible world semantics.^{[citation needed]}

In mathematics

In mathematics, a fact is a statement (called a theorem) that can be proven by logical argument from certain axioms and definitions.^{[citation needed]}

In science

The definition of a scientific fact is different from the definition of fact, as it implies knowledge. A scientific fact is the result of a repeatable careful observation or measurement by experimentation or other means, also called empirical evidence. These are central to building scientific theories. Various forms of observation and measurement lead to fundamental questions about the scientific method, and the scope and validity of scientific reasoning.

In the most basic sense, a scientific fact is an objective and verifiable observation, in contrast with a hypothesis or theory, which is intended to explain or interpret facts.^[19]

Various scholars have offered significant refinements to this basic formulation. Philosophers and scientists are careful to distinguish between: 1) states of affairs in the external world and 2) assertions of fact that may be considered relevant in scientific analysis. The term is used in both senses in the philosophy of science.^[20]

Scholars and clinical researchers in both the social and natural sciences have written about numerous questions and theories that arise in the attempt to clarify the fundamental nature of scientific fact.^[19] Pertinent issues raised by this inquiry include:

• the process by which «established fact» becomes recognized and accepted as such;^{[20]: 182 fn. 1}
• whether and to what extent «fact» and «theoretic explanation» can be considered truly independent and separable from one another;^{[20]: 185 [19]: 138}
• to what extent «facts» are influenced by the mere act of observation;^[19]: 138 and
• to what extent factual conclusions are influenced by history and consensus, rather than a strictly systematic methodology.^[19]: 7

Consistent with the idea of confirmation holism, some scholars assert «fact» to be necessarily «theory-laden» to some degree. Thomas Kuhn points out that knowing what facts to measure, and how to measure them, requires the use of other theories. For example, the age of fossils is based on radiometric dating, which is justified by reasoning that radioactive decay follows a Poisson process rather than a Bernoulli process. Similarly, Percy Williams Bridgman is credited with the methodological position known as operationalism, which asserts that all observations are not only influenced, but necessarily defined, by the means and assumptions used to measure them.^{[citation needed]}

The scientific method

Apart from the fundamental inquiry into the nature of scientific fact, there remain the practical and social considerations of how fact is investigated, established, and substantiated through the proper application of the scientific method.^{[20]: 181 ff} Scientific facts are generally believed independent of the observer: no matter who performs a scientific experiment, all observers agree on the outcome.^[21]
In addition to these considerations, there are the social and institutional measures, such as peer review and accreditation, that are intended to promote factual accuracy among other interests in scientific study.^[20]

In history

A common rhetorical cliché states, «History is written by the winners.» This phrase suggests but does not examine the use of facts in the writing of history.^{[citation needed]}

E. H. Carr in his 1961 volume What is History? argues that the inherent biases from the gathering of facts makes the objective truth of any historical perspective idealistic and impossible. Facts are, «like fish in the Ocean,» of which we may only happen to catch a few, only an indication of what is below the surface. Even a dragnet cannot tell us for certain what it would be like to live below the Ocean’s surface. Even if we do not discard any facts (or fish) presented, we will always miss the majority; the site of our fishing, the methods undertaken, the weather and even luck play a vital role in what we will catch. Additionally, the composition of history is inevitably made up by the compilation of many different biases of fact finding – all compounded over time. He concludes that for a historian to attempt a more objective method, one must accept that history can only aspire to a conversation of the present with the past – and that one’s methods of fact gathering should be openly examined. The set of highlighted historical facts, and their interpretations, therefore changes over time, and reflect present consensuses.^{[citation needed]}

In law

This section of the article emphasizes common law jurisprudence as primarily represented in Anglo-American–based legal tradition. Nevertheless, the principles described herein have analogous treatment in other legal systems such as civil law systems as well.

In most common law jurisdictions, the general concept and analysis of fact reflects fundamental principles of jurisprudence, and is supported by several well-established standards.^[22][23] Matters of fact have various formal definitions under common law jurisdictions.

These include:

• an element required in legal pleadings to demonstrate a cause of action;^[24][25]

• the determinations of the finder of fact after evaluating admissible evidence produced in a trial or hearing;^[26]
• a potential ground of reversible error forwarded on appeal in an appellate court;^[27] and
• any of various matters subject to investigation by official authority to establish whether a crime has been perpetrated, and to establish culpability.^[28]

Legal pleadings

A party (e.g., plaintiff) to a civil suit generally must clearly state the relevant allegations of fact that form the basis of a claim. The requisite level of precision and particularity of these allegations varies, depending on the rules of civil procedure and jurisdiction. Parties who face uncertainties regarding facts and circumstances attendant to their side in a dispute may sometimes invoke alternative pleading.^[29] In this situation, a party may plead separate sets of facts that when considered together may be contradictory or mutually exclusive. This seemingly logically-inconsistent presentation of facts may be necessary as a safeguard against contingencies such as res judicata that would otherwise preclude presenting a claim or defense that depends on a particular interpretation of the underlying facts and ruling of the court.^[30]

See also

• Brute fact
• Common misconceptions
• Consensus reality
• Counterfactual history
• De facto
• Factoid
• Fiction
• Lie

References

External links

• «Facts» entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Last Updated:
3 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

The facts stated may be true, but there are _other facts_ which are not stated equally true, and which the scope and purpose of such reports did not render it necessary to collect. ❋ Various (N/A)

— _Notice the facts which this paragraph contains, and the relation to each other of the clauses and the sentences expressing these facts_: — ❋ Brainerd Kellogg (N/A)

‘One cannot disbelieve facts, Darya Alexandrovna, ’ said he, with an emphasis on the word ‘facts. ❋ Unknown (1917)

Thus, as _memory is the approximate repetition of once-experienced mental states or facts, together with the recognition of their belonging to our past, so it is accomplished by an approximate repetition of the once-performed neural process in the cortex which originally accompanied these states or facts_. ❋ George Herbert Betts (1901)

Bacon’s history is open to the world, from his boyhood to his death in old age — a history consisting of known facts, displayed in minute and multitudinous detail; _facts_, not guesses and conjectures and might-have-beens. ❋ Mark Twain (1872)

In her case there was a reversal of the usual facts of nature — (_I say facts_, not _laws_): the dreams of most people are more or less insane; those of Lady Alice were sound; thus, with her, restoring the balance of sane life. ❋ George MacDonald (1864)

It is a mere empty dream, unworthy of a serious consideration by any mind imbued with the first principle of inductive science — namely, that all science is the orderly knowledge of facts; and whose first rule is, _first ascertain your facts_. ❋ Robert Patterson (1857)

The _treatment_ of the facts must, in any case, have been due to Keats’s genius, so as to be the same whether he had studied Greek or not: the _facts_, apart from the treatment, must in any case have been had from a book. ❋ Thomas De Quincey (1822)

The distinction between the teaching of the facts of a science as instruction, and the teaching it systematically as knowledge, has already been placed before you in a previous lecture: and it appears to me, that, as with other sciences, the _common facts_ of Biology — the uses of parts of the body — the names and habits of the living creatures which surround us — may be taught with advantage to the youngest child. ❋ Thomas Henry Huxley (1860)

The distinction between the teaching of the facts of a science as instruction, and the teaching it systematically as knowledge, has already been placed before you in a previous lecture: and it appears to me that, as with other sciences, the _common facts_ of Biology — the uses of parts of the body — the names and habits of the living creatures which surround us — may be taught with advantage to the youngest child. ❋ Thomas Henry Huxley (1860)

_secondly_, to reduce these facts under general laws; and, _thirdly_, to investigate the «causes» by which both _facts_ and _laws_ may be accounted for. ❋ James Buchanan (1837)

I can understand if the cchool saw the picture and asked her about it, but not allowing her to return to work in the absence of and other facts is a gross over reaction. ❋ Unknown (2009)

But the fact that people like Scott and Matt are so fanatic as to be ignorant of the facts is a reason to not take them seriously, not to adopt their views. ❋ Unknown (2010)

To demoralize them in this way on national news without reporting all the facts is a disgrace. ❋ Unknown (2009)

The only entity that won’t face the facts is the Department of the Treasury, which runs the program and has been desperate to hide the program’s poor performance. ❋ Rep. Darrell Issa (2010)

You do have valid concerns but the extent to which you ignore the facts is astounding. ❋ Unknown (2010)

Sorting out the facts is an on-going project for me. ❋ Kate Fleurange (2007)

Translation: “Juicing up the facts is acceptable to a climate scientist like myself.” ❋ Unknown (2006)

«Yo [deadass nigga] if anyone [scuffs] my timbs they finna get stomped on bruh.»
«Yo that’s facts my guy.»
«[FACTS B] THAT’S ALL I SPEAK!» ❋ Fresh Timbs (2017)

Guy 1 : damn [bruh] this is some [good weed]
[Guy 2] : yo facts facts ❋ Kushndgatorade (2014)

facts ❋ Whatever5551 (2011)

“[Shawn Mendes] is really [hot]”
“[FACTS]” ❋ Anamendes (2018)

Guy 1 : damn [bruh] this is some [good weed]
[Guy 2] : yo facts facts ❋ Kushndgatorade (2014)

Milo: i love you more!!
Brandon: [nooooooo]
Milo: [yessssssss]
Brandon: you [can’t prove it]!
Milo: you don’t have to prove something if it’s already facts. ❋ Owo.milo (2019)

[Ola] Rosling [coined the term] [Factfulness] in order to describe the satisfaction of stating your opinion based on evidence instead of guessing. ❋ Maze71 (2015)

«[Joe] that was [really good] facting!». ❋ PhilipSkovgaard (2010)

The [newspaper] was known to use [facting] tactics in its [articles].
Many memes are guilty of facting. ❋ WorthW8 (2017)

Dave: Hey [Kyle]
Kyle: Hey Dave
Dave: Did you hear that Luke had finally come out?
Kyle: No way! He’s [not even gay].
Dave: FACT!
Kyle: [Fair enough]. ❋ Cptchopper79 (2010)

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French fact, from Latin factum (“an act, deed, feat, etc.”); also Medieval Latin for “state, condition, circumstance”; neuter of factus (“done or made”), perfect passive participle of faciō (“do, make”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). Old/Middle French later evolved it into faict and fait. Doublet of feat.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /fækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Noun[edit]

fact (countable and uncountable, plural facts)

1. Something actual as opposed to invented.

   In this story, the Gettysburg Address is a fact, but the rest is fiction.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest‎^[1]:

     Mother […] considered that the exclusiveness of Peter’s circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, from which every Kensingtonian held aloof, except on the conventional tip-and-run excursions in pursuit of shopping, tea and theatres.

2. Something which is real.

   Gravity is a fact, not a theory.

3. Something concrete used as a basis for further interpretation.

   Let’s look at the facts of the case before deciding.

4. An objective consensus on a fundamental reality that has been agreed upon by a substantial number of experts.

   There is no doubting the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun.

5. Information about a particular subject, especially actual conditions and/or circumstances.

   The facts about space travel.

6. (databases) An individual value or measurement at the lowest level of granularity in a data warehouse.
7. (archaic) Action; the realm of action.

   • 1622, Francis Bacon, The History of the Reign of King Henry the Seventh, page 1:

     After that Richard, the third of that name, king in fact only, but tyrant both in title and regiment […] was […] overthrown and slain at Bosworth Field; there succeeded in the kingdom […] Henry the Seventh.

8. (law, obsolete except in set phrases) A wrongful or criminal deed.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 76, column 2:

     His friends still wrought Repreeves for him: And indeed his fact till now in the government of Lord Angelo, came not to an undoubtfull proofe.

   • 1819, T. Howell, A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors:

     Gentlemen of the Jury, I think I need say but little on this matter: They all confess the fact of which they stand indicted. Some of them were old offenders, and all of them were proved to be at the taking of capt. Manwareing’s sloop, and all took their shares: so that I think the fact is very fully and clearly proved upon them.

   He had become an accessory after the fact.

9. (obsolete) A feat or meritorious deed.

   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene ii:

     UUho when he ſhal embrace you in his arms
     UUil tell how many thouſand men he ſlew.
     And when you looke for amorous diſcourſe,
     Will rattle foorth his facts of war and blood:
     Too harſh a ſubiect for your daintie eares.

Antonyms[edit]

• (Something actual): fiction
• (Something objective): opinion

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• value
• belief

References[edit]

• fact at OneLook Dictionary Search
• fact in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “fact”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• «Conway: ‘Alternative Facts'» Merriam-Webster’s Trend Watch Merriam-Webster. 2017.

Interjection[edit]

fact

1. Used before making a statement to introduce it as a trustworthy one.

Anagrams[edit]

• acft

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Generally, a fact is defined as something that is true, something that can be verified according to an established standard of evaluation. There is a range of other uses, depending on the context. For example, fact may be argued under the authority of a specific discipline, such as scientific facts or historical facts. Rhetorical assertion of fact is often forwarded without an implied or express basis of authority.

Although the term fact often implies objectivity and truth, it is not so obvious that facts are free from interpretation; some argue that facts are established only within certain frameworks of thought and value perspectives. For example, historians understand historical facts within a certain context of understanding. Similarly facts in social sciences are established by social scientists according to certain theoretical assumptions and value perspectives. Statistical data is determined by the methodology that is used. Even in the natural sciences, facts are meaningful only within certain theoretical frameworks. The issue is closely related with the concept of objectivity and issues regarding the universality of truth.

Etymology and usage

The word fact derives from the Latin Factum, and was first used in English with the same meaning: «a thing done or performed,» a use that is now obsolete.^[1]

The common usage of, «something that has really occurred or is the case,» dates from the middle of the sixteenth century.^[2] Fact is also synonymous with truth or reality, as distinguishable from conclusions or opinions. This use is found for instance in the phrase Matter of fact,^[3] and in «… not history, nor fact, but imagination.»

Fact also indicates a matter under discussion deemed to be true or correct, such as to emphasize a point or prove a disputed issue; (e.g., «… the fact of the matter is …»).^[4][5]

Alternatively, «fact» may also indicate an allegation or stipulation of something that may or may not be a «true fact»,^[6] (e.g., «the author’s facts are not trustworthy»). This alternate usage, although contested by some, has a long history in standard English.^[7]

Fact may also indicate findings derived through a process of evaluation, including review of testimony, direct observation, or otherwise; as distinguishable from matters of inference or speculation.^[8] This use is reflected in the terms «fact-find» and «fact-finder» (e.g., «set up a fact-finding commission»).^[9]

Fact in Philosophy

In philosophy, the concept fact is considered in epistemology and ontology. Questions of objectivity and truth are closely associated with questions of fact. A «fact» can be defined as something which is the case, that is, the state of affairs reported by a true proposition.^[10][11]

Facts may be understood as that which makes a true sentence true. For example, the statement «Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system» is made true by the fact that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Facts may also be understood as those things to which a true sentence refers. The statement «Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system» is about the fact that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system.^[12]

Correspondence and the slingshot argument

Some versions of the correspondence theory of truth hold that what makes a sentence true is that it corresponds to a fact.^[13]
This theory presupposes the existence of an objective world.

The Slingshot argument claims to show that all true statements stand for the same thing — the truth value true. If this argument holds, and facts are taken to be what true statements stand for, then we reach the counter-intuitive conclusion that there is only one fact — «the truth».^[14]

Compound facts

Any non-trivial true statement about reality is necessarily an abstraction composed of a complex of objects and properties or relations.^[15] For example, the fact described by the true statement «Paris is the capital city of France» implies that there is such a place as Paris, that there is such a place as France, that there are such things as capital cities, as well as that France has a government, that the government of France has the power to define its capital city, and that the French government has chosen Paris to be the capital, that there is such a thing as a «place» or a «government,» etc. The verifiable accuracy of all of these assertions, if facts themselves, may coincide to create the fact that Paris is the capital of France.

Difficulties arise, however, in attempting to identify the constituent parts of negative, modal, disjunctive, or moral facts.^[16]

The fact-value distinction

Moral philosophers since David Hume have debated whether values are objective, and thus factual. In A Treatise of Human Nature Hume pointed out that there is no obvious way for a series of statements about what ought to be the case to be derived from a series of statements of what is the case. Those who insist that there is a logical gulf between facts and values, such that it is fallacious to attempt to derive values from facts, include G. E. Moore, who called attempting to do so the naturalistic fallacy.

The factual-counterfactual distinction

Factuality — what has occurred — can also be contrasted with counterfactuality —
what might have occurred, but did not. A counterfactual conditional or subjunctive conditional is a conditional (or «if-then») statement indicating what would be the case if events had been other than they actually are. For example, «If Alexander had lived, his empire would have been greater than Rome.» This is to be contrasted with an indicative conditional, which indicates what is (in fact) the case if its antecedent is (in fact) true — for example, «if you drink this, it will make you well.»

Such sentences are important to Modal logic, especially since the development of Possible world semantics.

Fact in science

Further information: scientific method and philosophy of science

Just as in philosophy, the scientific concept of fact is central to fundamental questions regarding the nature, methods, scope and validity of scientific reasoning.

In the most basic sense, a scientific fact is an objective and verifiable observation; in contrast with a hypothesis or theory, which is intended to explain or interpret facts.^[17]

Various scholars have offered significant refinements to this basic formulation, some of which are detailed below. Also, rigorous scientific use of the term «fact» is careful to distinguish: 1) states of affairs in the external world; from 2) assertions of fact that may be considered relevant in scientific analysis. The term is used in both senses in the philosophy of science.^[18]

Scholarly inquiry regarding fact, interpretation and truth

Scholars and clinical researchers in both the social and natural sciences have forwarded numerous questions and theories in clarifying the fundamental nature of scientific fact.^[19] Some pertinent issues raised by this inquiry include:

• the process by which «established fact» becomes recognized and accepted as such;^[20]
• whether and to what extent «fact» and «theoretic explanation» can be considered truly independent and separable from one another;^[21][22]
• to what extent are «facts» influenced by the mere act of observation;^[23] and
• to what extent are factual conclusions influenced by history and consensus, rather than a strictly systematic methodology.^[24]

Fact implies objectivity and truth, which is assumed to be free from interpretation. Methodologies in various sciences are often thought to reveal facts free of interpretation. Thinkers of the Enlightenment held the pursuit of objective knowledge as its ideal and assumed that facts are discoverable by the power of reason, which is also thought to be free from prejudice and interpretation.

From the nineteenth century through twentieth century, a number of thinkers questioned the pure objectivity of knowledge and the concept of fact as reality free from interpretation. Friedrich Nietzsche argued that human knowledge is essentially perspectival and all «facts» are loaded with the perspective of a person who views them. Nietzsche objected against the concept of pure rationality which is free from interpretation. Similarly, Karl Marx argued that social and historical facts and realities are loaded with interpretation of the person who views them; social, political interests of the person define what «facts» are.

In the natural sciences, along with the development of philosophy of science in the twentieth century, thinkers began to question the nature of science and scientific observation. Consistent with the theory of confirmation holism, some scholars assert «fact» to be necessarily «theory-laden» to some degree. Thomas Kuhn and others pointed out that knowing what facts to measure, and how to measure them, requires the use of some other theory (e.g., age of fossils is based on radiocarbon dating which is justified by reasoning that radioactive decay follows a Poisson process rather than a Bernoulli process). Similarly, Percy Williams Bridgman is credited with the methodological position known as operationalism, which asserts that all observations are not only influenced, but necessarily defined by the means and assumptions used to measure them. Thomas Kuhn questioned the pure objectivity of scientific knowledge and argued that scientific facts are made possible within a paradigm which is conditioned by social, historical practices of scientists. Post-Kuhnian theorists such as Imre Lakatos and Paul Feyarabend pointed out that scientific observations are meaningful only within scientific theories, thus, «facts» are theory-loaded.

Philosophers such as Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer argued that human understanding is essentially hermeneutic. Gadamer in particular argued for the universality of hermeneutics.

In the late twentieth century, postmodern intellectuals further pursued the interpretive dimension of knowledge which questioned the concept of objectivity of knowledge, neutrality of fact, and associated concept of truth. Postmodernists often argue that facts are different according to perspectives. This point is well illustrated, for example, by Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon. The film depicts the rape of a woman and the apparent murder of her husband through the widely differing accounts of four witnesses, including the bandit, the woman, a witness, and, through a medium, the dead man. The accounts of «fact» are mutually contradictory, highlighting the challenge of objectivity within the context of multiple perspectives.

Fact and the scientific method

Apart from the fundamental inquiry in to the nature of scientific fact, there remain the practical and social considerations of how fact is investigated, established, and substantiated through the proper application of the scientific method.^[25] Scientific facts are generally believed to be independent from the observer in that no matter which scientist observes a phenomenon, all will reach the same necessary conclusion.^[26]
In addition to these considerations, there are the social and institutional measures, such as peer review and accreditation, that are intended to promote factual accuracy (among other interests) in scientific study.^[27]

Fact does not always mean the same thing as truth. Fact is a generally agreed-upon and seemingly obvious observation. It is a fact that things stick to the earth, without regard to why that happens. It was once a fact that the planets changed direction from time to time, and that the sun, planets and stars circled the earth once daily. This seemed obvious, and was generally agreed to be the case.

In time, the fact was changed, and it was then said that the earth circles the sun, and the planets only appear to change direction as they are passed by the earth in their orbits, or vice versa.

Misunderstanding of this difference sometimes leads to fallacy in rhetoric, in which persons will say that they have fact, while others have only theory. Such statements indicate confusion as to the meanings of both words, suggesting they believe that fact means «truth,» and theory means «speculation.»

Fact in History

Further information: Historiography

A common rhetorical cliche states, «History is written by the winners.» This phrase suggests but does not examine the use of facts in the writing of history.

E. H. Carr in his 1961 volume, What is History?, argues that the inherent biases from the gathering of facts makes the objective truth of any historical perspective idealistic and impossible. Facts are, «like fish in the Ocean,» that we may only happen to catch a few, only an indication of what is below the surface. Even a dragnet cannot tell us for certain what it would be like to live below the Ocean’s surface. Even if we do not discard any facts (or fish) presented, we will always miss the majority; the site of our fishing, the methods undertaken, the weather and even luck play a vital role in what we will catch. Additionally, the composition of history is inevitably made up by the compilation of many different bias of fact finding — all compounded over time. He concludes that for a historian to attempt a more objective method, one must accept that history can only aspire to a conversation of the present with the past — and, that one’s methods of fact gathering should be openly examined. As with science, historical truth and facts will therefore change over time and reflect only the present consensus (if that).

Others have argued that an approach to facts such as Carr’s is relativism and they lament the loss of a transcendent or fixed moral framework. However, his views together with the popular rise of historiographical narratives and meta-narratives may comprise a consensual view.

Fact in law

In most common law jurisdictions,^[28] the general concept and analysis of fact reflects fundamental principles of Jurisprudence, and is supported by several well-established standards.^[29][30] Matters of fact have various formal definitions under common law jurisdictions.

These include:

• an element required in legal pleadings to demonstrate a cause of action;^[31][32]

• the determinations of the finder of fact after evaluating admissible evidence produced in a trial or hearing;^[33]

• a potential ground of reversible error forwarded on appeal in an appellate court;^[34] and

• any of various matters subject to investigation by official authority to establish whether a crime has been perpetrated, and to establish culpability.^[35]

Legal pleadings

A party to a civil suit generally must clearly state all relevant allegations of fact upon which a claim is based. The requisite level of precision and particularity of these allegations varies depending on the rules of civil procedure as well as the jurisdiction. Parties who face uncertainties regarding the facts and circumstances attendant to their side in a dispute may sometimes invoke alternative pleading.^[36] In this situation, a party may plead separate facts that (when considered together) may be contradictory or mutually exclusive. This (seemingly) logically-inconsistent presentation of facts may be necessary as a safeguard against contingencies (such as res judicata) that would otherwise preclude presenting a claim or defense that depends on a particular interpretation of the underlying facts.^[37]

See also

• Belief
• Confirmation holism
• De facto
• Evidence (law)
• Objectivity
• philosophy of science
• Reality
• Truth

Notes

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN 978-0618082308.
• Bennett, Wayne W. Criminal Investigation. Thomson Wadsworth, 2003. ISBN 0534615244.
• Bernstein, Richard J. Beyond Objectivism: Science, Hermeneutics and Praxis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
• Bishin, William R. Law Language and Ethics: An Introduction to Law and Legal Method. Foundation Press, 1972.
• Cassell, Eric J. The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine. Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0195156164.
• Davidson, Donald. Truth and Interpretation. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984. ISBN 019824617x.
• Dennes, William Ray. Fact and Interpretation. (University of California publications in philosophy) New York, NY: Johnson Reprint Corp, 1969.
• Elkouri, Frank. How Arbitration Works. BNA Books, 2003. ISBN 157018335X.
• Engel, Pascal. Truth. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0773524620.
• Estrich, Willis Albert. American Jurisprudence: A Comprehensive Text Statement of American Case Law. Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, 1952.
• Gower, Barry. Scientific Method: A Historical and Philosophical Introduction. Routledge, 1997. ISBN 0415122821.
• Honderich, Ted. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0198661320.
• McDonald, Roy W. «Alternative Pleading in the United States,» Columbia Law Review 52 (4) (1952)
• Merrill, John Houston, Charles Frederic Williams, Thomas Johnson Michie, and David Shephard Garland. The American and English Encyclopedia of Law. Northport, Long island, NY: E. Thompson, 1887.
• Oliver, Alex. «Fact,» in Edward Craig. Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Routledge, Oxford, 2005. ISBN 0415324955.
• Ravetz, Jerome Raymond. Scientific Knowledge and Its Social Problems. Transaction Publishers, 1996 (original 1973). ISBN 1560008512.
• Richie, Donald. Focus on Rashomon. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1972. ISBN 978-0137529728.
• Simpson, J. A., and E. S. C. Weiner, eds. The Oxford English Dictionary. (20 vols) Oxford University Press USA: Clarendon Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0198611868

External links

All links retrieved August 8, 2017.

• Facts, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
• The Correspondence Theory of Truth, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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Фонетика

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Антонимы

Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:4.1 / 11 votes

1. factnoun

   a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred

   «first you must collect all the facts of the case»

2. factnoun

   a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened

   «he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts»

3. factnoun

   an event known to have happened or something known to have existed

   «your fears have no basis in fact»; «how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell»

4. factnoun

   a concept whose truth can be proved

   «scientific hypotheses are not facts»

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.8 / 4 votes

1. factnoun

   Action; the realm of action.

2. factnoun

   A wrongful or criminal deed.

3. factnoun

   Feat.

4. factnoun

   An honest observation.

5. factnoun

   Something actual as opposed to invented.

   In this story, the Gettysburg Address is a fact, but the rest is fiction.

6. factnoun

   Something which has become real.

   The promise of television became a fact in the 1920s.

7. factnoun

   Something concrete used as a basis for further interpretation.

   Let’s look at the facts of the case before deciding.

8. factnoun

   An objective consensus on a fundamental reality that has been agreed upon by a substantial number of people.

   There is no doubting the fact that the Earth orbits the Sun.

9. factnoun

   Information about a particular subject.

   The facts about space travel.

10. Etymology: From factum, neuter of factus, perfect passive participle of facio.

Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Factnoun

   Etymology: factum, Latin.

   1. A thing done; an effect produced; something not barely supposed or suspected, but really done.

   In matter of fact there is some credit to be given to the testimony of man; but not in matter of opinion and judgment: we see the contrary both acknowledged and universally practised also throughout the world.
   Richard Hooker, b. ii. s. 7.

   As men are not to mistake the causes of these operations, so much less are they to mistake the fact or effect, and rashly to take that for done which is not done.
   Francis Bacon, Nat. History.

   Matter of fact breaks out and blazes with too great an evidence to be denied.
   Robert South, Sermons.

   2. Reality; not supposition; not speculation.

   Those effects which are wrought by the percussion of the sense, and by things in fact, are produced likewise in some degree by the imagination: therefore if a man see another eat sour or acid things, which set the teeth on edge, that object tainteth the imagination.
   Francis Bacon, Natural History, №. 795.

   If this were true in fact, I do not see any colour for such a conclusion.
   Joseph Addison, on the State of the War.

   Manifold sins, though in speculation they may be separable from war, in reality and fact never fail to attend it.
   George Smalridge.

   3. Action; deed.

   Unhappy man! to break the pious laws
   Of nature, pleading in his children’s cause:
   Howe’er the doubtful fact is understood,
   ’Tis love of honour and his country’s good;
   The consul, not the father, sheds the blood.
   Dryden.

WikipediaRate this definition:4.3 / 3 votes

1. Fact

   A fact is something that is consistent with objective reality or that can be proven with evidence. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability — that is whether it can be demonstrated to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by experiments or other means.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 3 votes

1. Factnoun

   a doing, making, or preparing

2. Factnoun

   an effect produced or achieved; anything done or that comes to pass; an act; an event; a circumstance

3. Factnoun

   reality; actuality; truth; as, he, in fact, excelled all the rest; the fact is, he was beaten

4. Factnoun

   the assertion or statement of a thing done or existing; sometimes, even when false, improperly put, by a transfer of meaning, for the thing done, or supposed to be done; a thing supposed or asserted to be done; as, history abounds with false facts

FreebaseRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Fact

   A fact is something that has really occurred or is actually the case. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability, that is whether it can be proven to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scientific facts are verified by repeatable experiments.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes

1. Fact

   fakt, n. a deed or anything done: anything that comes to pass: reality, or a real state of things, as distinguished from a mere statement or belief, a datum of experience: truth: the assertion of a thing done: an evil deed, a sense now surviving only in ‘to confess the fact,’ ‘after’ or ‘before the fact.’—adj. Fact′ual, pertaining to facts: actual.—ns. Factual′ity; Fact′um, a thing done, a deed.—As a matter of fact, in reality.—The fact of the matter, the plain truth about the subject in question. [L. factum—facĕre, to make.]

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. fact

   Data or information that is verified as accurate, real and true.

   Facts are vital to empower truthful and honest debate.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 1, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Concept
   • Information
   • Reality

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘fact’ in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #238

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘fact’ in Written Corpus Frequency: #233

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word ‘fact’ in Nouns Frequency: #37

How to pronounce fact?

How to say fact in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of fact in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of fact in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of fact in a Sentence

1. Margaret Fuller:

   Art can only be truly Art by presenting an adequate outward symbol of some fact in the interior life.

2. Traci Minamide:

   One of our major focuses is on recycled water and, in fact, this is a goal that the city of Los Angeles has, to recycle 100 % of all wastewater, that will help us provide a local source of water that’s sustainable and consistent.

3. Henry Lee Stevenson:

   A healthy baby boy and the fact that he came on Sept. 1, the doctors, the nurses, my husband and I – we just couldn’t believe it.

4. Rochelle Walensky:

   We very much want to get as much information and informed decisions out to the American public as possible. And yet again, like we were for Covid, we are again really challenged by the fact that we at the agency have no authority to receive those data. We’re working on that right now.

5. The State Department official:

   These are important partners of the alliance, partners whose security means a lot to the United States, it’s a chance to highlight the fact that we are close partners and their security interests and their aspirations to get closer to the EU and NATO also matter to us.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for fact

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

• حقيقة, معلومة, واقعةArabic
• фактBelarusian
• фактBulgarian
• fetCatalan, Valencian
• skutečnost, faktCzech
• ffaithWelsh
• kendsgerning, faktum, virkelighedDanish
• Faktum, Tatsache, FaktGerman
• γεγονόςGreek
• faktoEsperanto
• hechoSpanish
• fakt, tõsiasiEstonian
• حقیقت, فاکتPersian
• tosiasia, fakta, tietoFinnish
• fait, véritéFrench
• fìrinnScottish Gaelic
• तथ्यHindi
• tényHungarian
• փաստArmenian
• faktaIndonesian
• raun, staðreynd, raunveruleikiIcelandic
• dato di fatto, fattoItalian
• עוּבדָהHebrew
• 現実, 事実, 実情Japanese
• ფაქტიGeorgian
• 사실Korean
• fethCornish
• болмуш, күч, жароо, чындык, факт, окуяKyrgyz
• faktasLithuanian
• fakts, notikumsLatvian
• mekaMāori
• feitDutch
• faktumNorwegian
• fachOccitan
• faktPolish
• fato, factoPortuguese
• fat, fatgRomansh
• fapt, faptăRomanian
• фактRussian
• fatuSardinian
• чињеница, čȉnjenicaSerbo-Croatian
• fakt, skutočnosťSlovak
• dejstvoSlovene
• verklighet, faktumSwedish
• உண்மையில்Tamil
• నిజానికిTelugu
• makatotohanang obserbasyonTagalog
• фактUkrainian
• sự thật, sự việcVietnamese
• fwaitWalloon

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