Difference between revisions of "Fact"

Revision as of 03:47, 25 April 2016

A fact is something that has really occurred or is actually the case.

(TO DO: fix templates.)

Description

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).

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.<ref>"Fact". OED_2d_Ed_1989, (but note the conventional uses: after the fact and before the fact).</ref> The common usage of "something that has really occurred or is the case" dates from the middle of the sixteenth century.<ref>"Fact" (1a). OED_2d_Ed_1989 Joye Exp. Dan. xi. Z vij b, Let emprours and kinges know this godly kynges fact. 1545</ref>

Fact is sometimes used synonymously with truth, as distinct from opinions, falsehoods, or matters of taste. This use is found in such phrases as, "It is a fact that the cup is blue" or "Matter of fact",<ref>"Fact" (4a) OED_2d_Ed_1989</ref> and "... not history, nor fact, but imagination." Filmmaker Werner Herzog distinguishes clearly between the two, claiming that "fact creates norms, and truth illumination".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

• Knowledge
• Logic
• Reason

External links

• Fact @ Wikipedia