Riddle me this...

CorLeonis

CorLeonis

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In your opinion, what is the difference between a fact and a belief?

And please think hard on this. Keep in mind that "facts", which we accept as wholly true and researched (think science) are often proven false, years later, and the replacement is then considered "fact" until yet another one comes along.

We all have our own personal "belief" system. Which may or may not have anything to do with religion. Do you think there is anything that is "factual"? What is the difference between a fact and a belief, the subject matter?

I'm just musing, and I was curious what others' thoughts on this were. I'm stumped.
 
I think facts are validated externally with the world and beliefs are validated from within.
 
middle1 said:
I think facts are validated externally with the world and beliefs are validated from within.
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Hmm. Yes. I could see that.

But... I guess what I'm kind of inkling at is how is a "fact" any more valid than a "belief"? Obviously because it is accepted as such. But is there, in your mind, any difference? Or are they one in the same? Is a fact more valid than a belief, to you?

It's a very personal question. It's not really a general answer thing, I know many people will have different opinions on this.
 
CorLeonis said:
In your opinion, what is the difference between a fact and a belief?

And please think hard on this. Keep in mind that "facts", which we accept as wholly true and researched (think science) are often proven false, years later, and the replacement is then considered "fact" until yet another one comes along.

We all have our own personal "belief" system. Which may or may not have anything to do with religion. Do you think there is anything that is "factual"? What is the difference between a fact and a belief, the subject matter?

I'm just musing, and I was curious what others' thoughts on this were. I'm stumped.
Click to expand...

I have thought about this question often. A lot of my poetry concerns the ideas of perception and perspective. Here's an example from part of a very early poem of mine:

"Known facts" can be disproved,
So how can anything be true?
Or does all truth become a lie
From another point of view?

A fact is defined as something known to be true. But truth is relative.

I think the following conversation between Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi from Star Wars Episode VI The Return of the Jedi sums it up best:

Luke: Ben! Why didn't you tell me? You told me that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered my father.
Obi-Wan: Your father... was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and "became" Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view.
Luke: A certain point of view?
Obi-Wan: Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
 
this is a little stumbling block.
because when i see a chair i believe it is a fact that that chair IS in fact a chair.
but through that i see that it in fact is not a chair . but a collection of atoms/particles/energy shaped/moulded to fit our internal perception of the external chair..
rather what im trying to get at is the importance of these questions your asking.


a fact is.

I am what I am
You are what you are
we are what we are
i am breathing
i am alive

what is fact? if science tells us a chair is in FACT a chair
but the chair is also in FACT not a chair but collective energy
and that a FACT is a FACT . is it a FACT

from this perception either EVERYTHING is a FACT or nothing is a FACT

( somthing to muse over friend :) )
 
CorLeonis said:
Hmm. Yes. I could see that.

But... I guess what I'm kind of inkling at is how is a "fact" any more valid than a "belief"? Obviously because it is accepted as such. But is there, in your mind, any difference? Or are they one in the same? Is a fact more valid than a belief, to you?

It's a very personal question. It's not really a general answer thing, I know many people will have different opinions on this.
Click to expand...

Hmm good question. I think its all subjective. Ignoring facts can be dangerous yet dismissing beliefs can be dangerous too. Facts are born from hypothesis and beliefs that sometimes happen to be true within the context of natural law.

My heart says what matters is what we believe in, factual or not.
 
A fact is true and real. It must be verifiable by induction and/or deduction. A belief is an opinion that may or may not be true.
 
Norton said:
A fact is true and real. It must be verifiable by induction and/or deduction. A belief is an opinion that may or may not be true.
Click to expand...
A fact may be false.

A long time ago they thought it was a fact that the earth was flat.
Now it's a fact that it's not.

And any fact could be false, so they're pretty much all beliefs.
 
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