How can one define what is fact from fiction?

I'm just curious to find out from the public, how one decides what is fact from what is fiction. What is good from what is evil and what is right from what is wrong?

What draws you to that conclusion and how is it different from ones personal Opinion?

Everything that involves your self is individual and moral as long as your individual preferences don't do anybody harm it's exepted.

The world is full of rules and there should only be one:

-everything is legal if no body gets hurt or effected

example:

I can kill myself but I can't kill anyone else.

I can take drugs aslong as taking drugs doesn't harm or effect anyone around me, if that does then I should be intelligent enough to quit doing what I do or to do it in a place where I can't effect people.

What is truth and what is not?

Every individual should seek the truth for himself and be as rational and questioning as possible, untill he has come the closest to the truth possible at that time. If somethings change the person should not let his/her ego come in the way of the truth. You should always admit faults and that is very difficult for some of us. The world is too complex to know the truth a full 100%.

And the internet can bring everyone to the truth, or as close as possible.







[edit on 29-6-2009 by colloredbrothers]

reply to post by colloredbrothers


valid point...but a simple question if only 80% of the world believe 1+1=2 and the other 20% doesn't does it make it a fact or an opinion?

You're talking about epistemology which is a lifelong study all by itself. An interesting intellectual topic, but sooner or later we need to stop speculating whether or not we're just a butterfly's dream and get our collective butt off the sofa and go to work.

To answer your question though, there are three things which lead me to believe something is true: 1) Reason 2)Authority 3) Experience.

Depending upon the circumstance and topic, any one might be sufficient. But even with all three, I'll still maintain I'm not 100% sure of anything. There are degrees of certainty (for me) which can approach, but never equal, 100%.

I'm 99.999% sure there's an objective reality. I'm not that certain we can ever know what it is. Some things shall probably forever remain an e-nigma.

[edit on 6/29/2009 by yeahright]

reply to post by U-N-I-T-Y


Fact has 0 to do with opinions. You may have opinions about facts, but that doesnt affect the fact. :example: 2+2=4 (fact) [grassman mathematics notwithstanding] I however do not like the number 4, it is of my opinion that 2+2 should =3.57 due to my dislike of 4, however that doesnt change the fact that 2+2 IS 4.

Good Day

Originally posted by Remixtup
reply to post by U-N-I-T-Y

 

Fact has 0 to do with opinions. You may have opinions about facts, but that doesnt affect the fact. :example: 2+2=4 (fact) [grassman mathematics notwithstanding] I however do not like the number 4, it is of my opinion that 2+2 should =3.57 due to my dislike of 4, however that doesnt change the fact that 2+2 IS 4.

Good Day

If a man with flying reindeer has delivered presents to all the good children in the world in one night, then Santa Claus exists.

Imagine that a man with flying reindeer has, in fact, done this. Does Santa Claus exist, in that case?