Fact
An individual fact is said to be explained by pointing out its cause, that is, by stating the law or laws of causation, of which its production is an instance.
John Stuart Mill (1862)Facts are "events that occur" or "the state of being of things" that are referred to. Facts exist independent of theory. Scientists do not construct facts, but make observations about things that refer to or represent the facts through theory. Unlike other terms of science, facts in science are similar in definition and interpretation relative to their use in common language. While the term "scientific fact" appears in the literature, facts transcend all human activity such that science cannot lay claim to them. Facts exist in the public domain inasmuch as they exist in science. In the practice and writing of science, however, there are two very broad and even oppositional classes of fact: 1) manifest, and 2) inferential.
Read more about this topic: Evolution As Fact And Theory, Evolution, Fact and Theory
Famous quotes containing the word fact:
“The expectation that every neurotic phenomenon can be cured may, I suspect, be derived from the layman’s belief that the neuroses are something quite unnecessary which have no right whatever to exist. Whereas in fact they are severe, constitutionally fixed illnesses, which rarely restrict themselves to only a few attacks but persist as a rule over long periods throughout life.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
“The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors, and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“What preoccupies us, then, is not God as a fact of nature, but as a fabrication useful for a God-fearing society. God himself becomes not a power but an image.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)