Fact

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A fact is a truth, something that is the case, or that which can be verified according to an established standard of evaluation. The precise definition of "fact" depends on the context of the academic discipline and the normative principles proper to each field.

Basic definitions

A thorough review of the definition and usage of the word "fact" in Standard Written English reveals a range of concepts and differing shades of meaning. In addition to the meanings discussed later in this article, the word "fact" is used to indicate:

• a matter under discussion deemed to be true, or indicated as true, such as to emphasize a point or prove a disputed issue (e.g., "... the fact of the matter is ...");

• an allegation or stipulation of something that may or may not be a "true fact" (e.g., "Lightning never strikes twice and other false facts", "the author's facts are not trustworthy");

• existence, or something that is known or demonstrated to have existed, as distinguishable from conclusions or opinions that may be derived from such existence (e.g., "... not history, nor fact, but imagination ..."); and

• a process of evaluation, (through review of testimony, direct observation, or otherwise) as distinguishable from matters of inference or speculation; this indication is also reflected in the terms "fact-find" and "fact-finder" (e.g., "set up a fact-finding commission").

Fact in philosophy

In philosophy, consideration of the concept of fact brings into question fundamental issues in epistemology and ontology. The proper analysis and interpretation of fact is central to various philosophic methods. Questions of objectivity and truth are closely associated with questions of fact. Speaking for the objective approach, British philosopher Roy Bhaskar asserts that "... facts are real and we are not free to invent them, but they belong to the realm of epistemology and are discovered through theoretical paradigms and are historically specific social realities."

A "fact" can be defined as something which is the case, ie. the state of affairs reported by a true proposition.

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 referes. For example, 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.

Correspondence and truth

The Correspondence theory of truth holds that what makes a sentence true is that it corresponds to a fact. 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".

Compound facts

Any non-trivial true statement 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" implies that:

• There is such a place as Paris;
• There 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.
• There is such a thing as a "place" or a "government".

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.

The fact-value distinction

Main article: 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

Main article: counterfactual conditional

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 validitity of scientific reasoning.

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

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.

Scholarly inquiry regarding scientific fact

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. Some pertinent issues raised by this inquiry include:

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

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.

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. 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. 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.

Fact in law

The general concept and analysis of fact in Law and Jurisprudence is supported by several well-established standards. 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;

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

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

• any of various matters subject to investigation by official authority to establish that a crime has been perpetrated.

Fact in psychology

Matters of fact have application in psychology. In this context, "fact" is the personal awareness that proceeds from the routine operation of healthy cognitive function. Unhealthy or maladaptive cognitive function is considered the basis of delusion, characterized by the retention or awareness of "facts" that do not coincide with objective "states of affairs." In this context the term "fact" is more technically described as "false belief."

Retention and internal representation of fact is the role of Declarative memory, which includes both Semantic memory and Episodic memory.

Rhetorical use of the word "fact"

Because more respect is generally accorded to facts than opinions, people may describe their opinions, based on personal experience, as "fact" even though they have not been evaluated or verified beyond the limits of individual perception. Such "facts" would be better described as beliefs, or strongly held convictions.

Yet, a conviction such as that "Magic Johnson is the greatest ever basketball player", widely held among interested observers, [1] could potentially have as much validity in discussions of basketball, as the assertion that "pain should be avoided" has: it is a widely-held view, and credible. However, the assertion that "basketballs are round", which can be rigorously examined, (that is, measurements taken, rulebooks consulted, discussion take place and so forth) would seem to be a less contentious statement within the discussion of basketball than the statement referring to a particular player's level of skill, which requires, unavoidably, a value judgement. Nevertheless, it has been argued, by Kuhn amongst others, that there still exists an opportunity for scientific concepts, even perhaps as simple as roundness, to be reliant on unspoken considerations. For instance, how are measuring devices contrived, and how and when the procedure for measuring appropriately systemized. So, it is the case that matters of fact are to be, in general, considered in relation to the particular discussion concerning a particular field of enquiry, and that widely-held views which are credible in the eyes of interested and experienced parties may then come to constitute a consensus, and may prevail in discussion, whilst still subject to deprecation by certain unconvinced parties, being in a minority.

A fact is only so as in that it is relevant to a particular discussion and particular facts are relevant in a particular discussion. Facts that are relevant in a discussion are the facts that have already been introduced to the discussion by an interested party. Facts that are relevant to a discussion may include facts, or crucial facts, [2] that are not known by any yet interested party, or have been misunderstood crucially by an interested party.

See also

• De facto
• Reality
• State of affairs
• Truth