Can anyone explain the difference between facts and Truth?

Question

Do you see a difference?

Like "Its 9:30 pm"...thats a fact somewhere in the world...but untrue in all other time zones.

Sometimes I feel that fact is short for faction...as in piece of the truth. Probably not the 'factual' root of the word however.

I think facts are fleeting and specific..and Truth is eternal and cannot be possesed in full.

Answer 1

The truth is for the here and now, a fact is for eternity.

Answer 2

Two quotes first:

There are no eternal facts as there are no absolute truths —Nietzsche

The truth is more important than the facts — Frank Lloyd Wright

Facts can change. For instance, one upon a time people thought the world was flat, and that was an accepted fact. Now the fact is, we know its basically round. So facts exist while they appear to be correct. Perhaps a greater body of people, sometimes even globally, can believe something as a fact.

Truths are also changeable and optional things. What one person believes to be true, may not hold true for the next. I think truths are very personal things.

So agreeing with the quote I started off with, I don't think a fact nor a truth can ever be considered to be fact or true forever, but I think a fact, such as the world is round, can be known and believed in by a greater number of people. Whereas I think truths are much more personal things, right down to truths being different for every person according to their personality, cultural background, belief system, etc.

Answer 3

Well you can manipulate the facts into what people want to hear. The truth never changes but the facts can be distorted into truth. What I trying to say that they are both the same basically. You can see this in a court of law.. both sides present the "facts" according to their point of view. the facts can be twisted and manipulated to fit ones reality, but the truth can't be undone. Case in point: It is always five o'clock P.M. somewhere. That's a truth and a fact. Change the verbal wording... It is 9:30 "somewhere" and that's a fact and a truth. It cannot be untrue because it is important how you say it. You could have said it's 9:30pm in England. That's a fact and a truth. People throw the the facts out of context in search for the truth. Ever hear the expression" the bald-faced truth.. there's no room for misinterpretation.

Answer 4

A fact is a simple citation of a piece of information whether it is true or not. The truth is an abstract term. If you say that you stole the cookie from the cookie jar and you did, then that is undoubtedly the truth. However, as Neils Bohr once said, "There are trivial truths and great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.” Take religion. A Christian may say that a tree is complex thereby proving that God is real. An atheist may say a tree is complex thereby proving evolution and not God is real. Both are irrefutable based off of evidence given. Reality is something dependent on the individual. My reality is different from your reality. However, I am sure that there is some bigger picture that no human sees that I suppose may be seen as the "real" reality, the big mass of everything that happens. However, that still would not be the universe as you have suggested because in order for this "reality" to exist, it must extend beyond the limits of the universe which we know is not limitless. The "real" reality must include the universe and everything beyond it.

Answer 5

A fact is something whch cannot be challenged, it is indisputable. For example, The moon orbits the Earth; Argentina is in South America;
On the other hand, the truth can often be subjected to a person's point of view. For example, Paris is a beautiful city. That may be true for some people but not for others. Therefore, althought fact and truth are often used intercheangeably, the truth is subjective and quite often is dictated by the beliefs of each individual, but a fact never changes, it is something established and accepted by all.

Answer 6

Actually, your example is faulty. If it's 9:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, that's what time it is the world over – just expressed in a manner that's particularly relevant to one area of the globe.

There's no difference between facts and truth. Some facts – like the fact of God or not-God – are more elusive, more problematic, more abstract, than others. But they're facts, all the same.

Answer 7

A fact is actually an observation. "2+2=4" and"The sun rises in the east," are facts. They may or may not be any part of truth. "A wise woman builds her house, but a stupid one tears her house down," is an example of truth. You can usually touch and measure a fact, but truth is more abstract. Facts may or may not support your understanding of truth, as in trial by jury. The story of Moses bringing the Ten Commandments to the Israelites may not be verifiable fact, but it is Truth people can learn and grow with. A great deal of the conflict among people centers in the distinction between fact and truth. You have asked an important question. Keep thinking about it.

Answer 8

Facts compose truths.
Like...it´s 9:30 here, 12:30 there,etc. so there must be a time difference all over the world between countries, which is a truth.
Facts are like happenings, observations, etc., they can be very well restricted. Truths though must be general however, they´re like the algorithm you develop for solving a certain type of problems in math.

Answer 9

fact and truth really don't have much to do with each other. Different truths can be taken fro a single fact. Facts are facts, they are solid, nothing can change it. It's concrete, consistent. Never changing, concotinuous. Truth on the other hand can be changed, its moldable depending on the situation or point in time. Truth can be as a fact meaning both are the same in somesituations as: say a cat is black, yes thats a fact a cat is black but if your cat is black thats the truth, and fact. It is black." things in time, not personalized are facts. things in life, as your own, personalized are truths. So, fact and truths are the same if you are comparing life and personalizing things. but are separate if you personalize truth or just telling time's facts.

Answer 10

It is really hard, you know? But let's base it on science.Facts are like the hypothesis of something and truth is like the theory after all the process it takes to find the solution.Truth is not flat, so as a theory it can change.But facts are the results of what you have observed and thought based on your experiences and beliefs(it cannot change because it is only a fact)