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Re: [ontolog-forum] [ontology-summit] Estimating number of all known fac

To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
From: John F Sowa <sowa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 00:17:31 -0400
Message-id: <4FC0595B.7050201@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Rich,    (01)

You've got it backwards.  Statements don't imply facts.    (02)

Facts, by definition, are aspects of reality -- past or present.
Statements that correspond with facts are true.  There are some
that only have a partial or approximate correspondence.  Those
are partly true.    (03)

That is just a neutral summary about English usage.    (04)

RC
> This is a circular argument.  First you assert that you believe
> there are such things as actual historical “truths” implying “facts”    (05)

First, there are statements about events in the past.  They are,
by definition, historical statements.  Unless you happen to be
some sort of alien being, we can safely assume that you were
born some time during the 20th century.  A statement about that
event would be a historical statement.    (06)

If you happen to have a birth certificate, the data recorded on
it can be mapped to a several historical sentences that are
probably true.  These observations are sufficient to justify
the claim that historical truths exist.    (07)

JFS
> The following claim is at the level of a joke on a late-night talk show:
>
>     "History is the lie that historians agree on."
>
> It has enough appearance of truth to get a laugh from the audience.    (08)

RC
> None of the above is factual; it is all your opinion    (09)

That is certainly true.  In my opinion, the quoted statement is
what is technically known as a "cheap shot".  It is deliberate
exaggeration that denigrates an entire profession.  I cannot
imagine that anyone would take it seriously as anything but
a deliberate exaggeration.    (010)

That is my opinion.  There is abundant material available
to justify it.  Try Google.    (011)

John    (012)

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