Tag: Facts are Agreed Opinions

I got a Pet Peeve

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Okay, I have a pet peeve… well, I have multiple pet peeves. Like people who sniff their snot back up into their nose, come on, just get it out. And people who don’t thank the workers of the many forms of service that exist in this country, just say thank you, their human beings, not your servants.

But as annoying as that is, there is one pet peeve that stands alone. One that simply infuriates me to my core. And in short, it is how we debate ideas. 

In my pursuit of knowledge, I have found a common trend in how we develop ideas. We first take an assumption, treat it as an undeniable fact, and then build it up from there. This is the process for all knowledge because unfortunately… there are no objective facts. Therefore, every argument has its limitations.

It is this truth (ironic since I just said there are no truths) that must be acknowledged to understanding why someone thinks what they do. Most people, especially people who are willing to talk about their ideas, have spent some time considering their thoughts and developing what they think. This is why it usually takes a little bit of digging to understand where someone is coming from. But eventually, with enough questions and desire to understand, we can usually get to that root difference in our assumptions. And I feel that it is only there that beliefs and knowledge can be changed. 

Now getting to my pet peeve, I HATE when people don’t have that same goal. When they can’t help but see their assumptions as truth and consider nothing else. Because obviously you will be correct then. Without considering a new assumption, and in other words a new truth, then you really won’t be considering anything but the thoughts you already have yourself. 

The number of people that I have met who are either incapable or choose not to consider these other assumptions truly bugs me. Because then it almost always leads to me walking into their turf and allowing them to present their build-up assumptions. Which is fine, don’t get me wrong. It is good to let them talk about their world so that I can better understand it… but it’s a two-way road. 

After the person has built their reality in front of me, it only makes sense for me to then do the same. And once both are presented we must find the core and compare them in an effort of seeing who is more likely correct.

I think we all should attempt to relax our egos (which I define as the consciousness we identify with), accept when we “lose” a debate, and acknowledge that nothing is real. Because as abstract and unnecessary as all of that appears, I feel it is only then that we consider things that our minds would not have naturally thought of given enough time.

The Skeptics Archnemesis

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Facts are agreed upon opinions.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with my claim, please feel free to click on the provided link What is a Fact?  This concept falls under the category of what is commonly referred to as “the skeptic”.  “The skeptic” is a way of thinking that questions everything. It is the strongest case to make because all arguments are grounded on the idea of knowing something. The problem is, as my earlier post indicated, we actually can’t know anything.  In every way “the skeptic” is this impenetrable argument.

However, there is a counter argument that can stand against the “the skeptic” with just as much certainty.  This counter statement was first introduced by Cogito Ergo Sum when he coined the term, “I think, therefore I am”.  By having the ability to think and question one’s own consciousness then proves that thing is in fact conscious.  He is not stating what form of consciousness is taking place. Instead he is merely stating there is some form of conscious thought taking place.  He simply states that he is conscious because he thinks whether he is conscious.

What is interesting about this concept is that we live in a time where nobody can go into anyone else’s consciousness.  As much as I may understand and relate to my friends, I will never know what it truly means to be in their heads. Therefore, the quote goes, “I think, therefore I am”, and not “we think, therefore we are”.  This concludes that until neuroscience puts me into your head there is no way for me to know that you are a conscious being like myself, and of course the opposite is true as well. Until humanity can figure out how to do this we are limited to ourselves.  This is why I have no way of knowing if there is even any other mind to go into.

To my surprise, yet also enlightenment, I now believe there is one fact. One thing I, and nobody else, can be absolutely sure of. Alternatively, you have one thing you can be sure of that nobody else can be.  I find this area of knowledge extremely interesting and if you find any flaw in my way of thinking please feel free to contact me through email and/or comment below.  Also, if you would like to continue the conversation please feel free to do so as well. I used to think there were no facts, and now I believe there is one, maybe with a longer debate we can find a second.

What Are Facts?

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What is a fact?  According to Google, “A thing that is indisputably the case”.  Yeah… I don’t know about that. Personally, I find a huge problem with this definition.  I feel that facts are not nearly as concrete as people believe they are. That they are instead forever changing as people and society grow over time.

Some may say, “a fact is a fact” or, “a fact is true and there is no changing it.”  The thing is, that’s not always the case. Facts are always changing and will continue to change as people’s opinions do.  It used to be a “fact” that the world was flat. It also used to be a “fact” that atoms were the smallest form of matter. For god sake, it used to be a “fact” that people of color were of a lesser, subhuman species.  All these “facts” were indisputably the case, yet as we all know these examples are no longer even considered.  

Facts change, which proves it is no more than an opinion.  Facts like two plus two equal four is an example of a universally agreed-upon opinion.  One where everyone’s opinion agrees, so it appears undeniably true. We consider facts as such when everyone’s opinion is the same on a given topic, which leaves no argument and the disillusion of total truth.  

The only reason that two plus two does not equal five is because of the mathematical rules we have implemented into a human-made system.  If we were instead taught that two plus two equals five and then rearranged the systems, logic, and axioms so that this opinion stayed true, it would be no different than the answer being four.  This way of thinking stays true for anything we consider to be absolute and unchanging. Therefore, if everyone were to suddenly start calling cats dogs and dogs cats would that make everyone wrong or would a new reality emerge?Some people may say how those people were just wrong when they thought the world was flat, that they instead believed in a false fact.  Yet that statement makes no sense. The people of that time did not believe their facts were false. It was not until the day they were told otherwise that they even begin to question this once invincible truth.  

Plus, and this is the hardest part to accept, who is to say that the very facts we believe today will be the facts we believe in a year, in a month or even tomorrow.  The opinions we have today, that we consider facts, will stay that way until different opinions are agreed upon. Thus, replacing the old with the new.  

So in summary, a fact is when everyone’s opinion is the same which makes it appear indisputable. I’m not saying there are no facts, I’m simply redefining the word. So who cares.  Google’s definition, my definition, does it matter?  I believe so, simply because of the effect it has on people.  I believe it leads to a huge change in the mindset of the public.  Facts are agreed upon opinions. This means that literally anything, any idea, any belief, any thought, can be debated and disputed.  Meaning there is no guarantee that anything is certain and will always be certain.  

By understanding that we cannot know for sure that anything will always be true, means that people can talk openly about anything.  Anything and everything is up for debate and debate we should. We should want to know the absolute truth, and we should do everything we can to find it.  

The irony of this is that we will never know if we have stumbled upon the absolute truth.  Assuming there even is one, we would never know if we came across it. This can be a little sad, but I will encourage you to look at the issue from a different light.  By never knowing if we have crossed the finish line, we will never stop racing. We would never stop modernizing, growing, and learning together. This is why I instead see this ironic twist as a blessing.  Together we should strive to debate and discuss this infinitely confusing world. If we can do that together, then let the opinions come, I want to consider them all.