fact
Let an agent explain the concept of a fact, relay its senses, the fact-opinion and fact-value distinctions and debates from philosophy and epistemology sources with positions attributed, describe the named senses and flag the loosely filed ones, and distinguish a fact from an opinion, a theory, a belief and fiction.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What a fact is.
Definition
Definition.
Definition
Definition.
- What is a fact, and how does it differ from an opinion, a theory, a belief and fiction? definition
- Is the question about the general concept or a domain sense such as legal or historical fact? boundary
Senses
Named senses.
Senses
Senses.
- What are legal, historical and brute facts, and why are military draft and historical settlement different senses? definition
- Which entry fits the specific sense? action
Epistemology Epistemology.
Verification
Verifiability.
Verification
Verification.
- How are facts verified against evidence? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Fact-value
Fact and value.
Fact-value
Fact-value.
- How do philosophers distinguish facts from values, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Domains Domain senses.
Legal
Legal facts.
Legal
Legal.
- What is a legal fact, and how is it established? provenance
- Which entry fits question of fact? action
Historical
Historical facts.
Historical
Historical.
- How do historians treat historical facts, with views attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral and attributed? boundary
Context Public debate.
Fact-checking
Fact-checking.
Fact-checking
Fact-checking.
- How does fact-checking assess claims? provenance
- Which entry fits fact-checking? action
Alternative facts
Alternative facts.
Alternative facts
Alternative facts.
- How do commentators discuss claims of alternative facts, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral and attributed? boundary
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Other names and narrower kinds
- legal fact, historical fact, brute fact, military draft, historical settlement
What it is Filled
A fact is a piece of information whose truth can be verified, something known to have occurred or to be the case, contrasted with opinion, belief or fiction, with senses the registry aliases name such as a legal fact, established in law, a historical fact, and a brute fact, one with no further explanation in philosophy; the aliases also list military draft and historical settlement, which appear to be unrelated senses of the word and are loosely filed. Facts are central to knowledge, evidence and reasoning, and the status of facts, their relation to theory and claims of alternative facts are discussed in philosophy and public debate, with positions attributed.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain the concept of a fact, relay its senses, the fact-opinion and fact-value distinctions and debates from philosophy and epistemology sources with positions attributed, describe the named senses and flag the loosely filed ones, and distinguish a fact from an opinion, a theory, a belief and fiction.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Verifiable
- Contrasted with opinion
- Several domain senses
- Central to knowledge
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present an opinion or an unverified claim as a fact.
- Invent facts, citations or data.
- Treat a legal finding of fact as proof outside its legal context.
- Withhold well-established facts to steer a user's decision.
Only with a human decision
- Publishing factual claims about a named person that could damage them.
May
- State facts with their sources and say how they can be checked.
- Separate facts from opinion, belief and inference in its answers.
Moral aspects Filled
- Shared facts are the basis for public debate and trust.
- False facts about people can ruin reputations.
Who is affected
- The public
- People named in claims
- Decision makers
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns facts; each publisher answers for what it states as fact.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q42848 - registry parent class
related
- data - in registry terms
- opinion
- theory
- fiction
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.fact
- Wikidata: Q188572 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188572)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- registry parent: data note
- brute fact: has no further explanation note - philosophy
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- A verifiable piece of information
- Legal fact, historical fact, brute fact, military draft, historical settlement
- An opinion is a judgment; a theory explains facts; a belief may be unverified; fiction is invented
- Not a physical object; verifiable information.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- explain the concept and senses
- relay the fact-opinion distinction
- describe named senses and flag loosely filed ones
- present debates with attribution
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Confusing facts, opinions and theories
- Loosely filed unrelated senses
- Claims of alternative facts
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Not applicable
Context of use required Filled
- Naming verifiable information.
- empirical facts
- legal facts
- historical facts
- brute facts
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q188572: fact - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Fact - general description of the item
Open questions
- The registry aliases military draft and historical settlement should be reviewed as unrelated senses
- Should the fact-value distinction be linked?
- How should fact-checking be documented?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q188572/spec.json