• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

How do you decide what is fact and what is fiction?

NewGuyOnTheBlock

NewGuyOnTheBlock

Cult Survivor/Fundamentalist Pentecostal Apostate
As one who subscribes and values science (as little as I understand it), verifiable evidence, logic (as little as I understand it), fact checking, etc; I find it perplexing how many who do not hold to such ideals decide what is real and what is not real.

If I were to say to you any given number of things; whatever that may be; how do you decide if I am truthful or if what I'm saying is a possibility, etc?
 
Nahwns Reefglin

Nahwns Reefglin

Servant of the Far Ones
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
As one who subscribes and values science (as little as I understand it), verifiable evidence, logic (as little as I understand it), fact checking, etc; I find it perplexing how many who do not hold to such ideals decide what is real and what is not real.

If I were to say to you any given number of things; whatever that may be; how do you decide if I am truthful or if what I'm saying is a possibility, etc?
Click to expand...

If it does not make sense logically it is fiction.

If it does make sense logically it is a possibility.

If it makes sense logically and I have personally found evidence of this then it is a fact.
 
Native

Native

Free Natural Philosopher & Comparative Mythologist
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
As one who subscribes and values science (as little as I understand it), verifiable evidence, logic (as little as I understand it), fact checking, etc; I find it perplexing how many who do not hold to such ideals decide what is real and what is not real.
Click to expand...
Don´t worry. Even many modern scientist don´t hold such ideals. Mostly because they have forgotten their natural observational skills.
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
If I were to say to you any given number of things; whatever that may be; how do you decide if I am truthful or if what I'm saying is a possibility, etc?
Click to expand...
First I would use my spiritual/natural intuition on your hypothesis.
 
Riverwolf

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Well, I determine whether something is fact by whether or not it is absolutely unarguable. For instance, it is a fact that it is currently Night where I am.

I determine whether something is fiction pretty much by whether or not it's in the fiction section.
 
NewGuyOnTheBlock

NewGuyOnTheBlock

Cult Survivor/Fundamentalist Pentecostal Apostate
psychoslice said:
A fact is something proven to be true, fiction is something not proven to be true.
Click to expand...

I, for one, do not hold this statement to be true (no disrespect).

"Fiction" would be something written while intended to be fiction: "The Force" of Star Wars or "The DaVinci Code" of "The Necronomicon". It is perplexing to me that people would hold these things to be true; even when the creators of such had no intent of such things being held true, nor held them true themselves (as far as we know). Fiction would also include those things realistically proven not to be true; or that logic and known principles precludes them to be true (Bigfoot, Champ, etc).

However, there are many things that do not fit these criteria: Nonlinear time, Intelligent life forms in the galaxy/universe, "extinct" or exotic creatures yet to be discovered in the oceans of the deep or the unexplored regions of the Amazon Basin or jungles of India, for instance. We believed Architeuthis and Platypus to be myths but that wasn't the case.

Nor do I blindly believe such claims, however; we really don't know what's out there. So, that leaves many things that I don't necessarily preclude nor include in my library of what I consider to be "true" as there is no real evidence either way.
 
NewGuyOnTheBlock

NewGuyOnTheBlock

Cult Survivor/Fundamentalist Pentecostal Apostate
Riverwolf said:
Well, I determine whether something is fact by whether or not it is absolutely unarguable. For instance, it is a fact that it is currently Night where I am.

I determine whether something is fiction pretty much by whether or not it's in the fiction section.
Click to expand...

Can I not find stories in the "fiction" section that include Woden?
 
psychoslice

psychoslice

Veteran Member
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
I, for one, do not hold this statement to be true (no disrespect).

"Fiction" would be something written while intended to be fiction: "The Force" of Star Wars or "The DaVinci Code" of "The Necronomicon". It is perplexing to me that people would hold these things to be true; even when the creators of such had no intent of such things being held true, nor held them true themselves (as far as we know). Fiction would also include those things realistically proven not to be true; or that logic and known principles precludes them to be true (Bigfoot, Champ, etc).

However, there are many things that do not fit these criteria: Nonlinear time, Intelligent life forms in the galaxy/universe, "extinct" or exotic creatures yet to be discovered in the oceans of the deep or the unexplored regions of the Amazon Basin or jungles of India, for instance. We believed Architeuthis and Platypus to be myths but that wasn't the case.

Nor do I blindly believe such claims, however; we really don't know what's out there. So, that leaves many things that I don't necessarily preclude nor include in my library of what I consider to be "true" as there is no real evidence either way.
Click to expand...
Yes I see what you mean, and there is a lot that we don't know, we can come up with a guess for whatever, and that guess maybe right, but to establish that to be right or true, needs to be proven to be true, this of course is on a human level.
 
A

Acim

Revelation all the time
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
As one who subscribes and values science (as little as I understand it), verifiable evidence, logic (as little as I understand it), fact checking, etc; I find it perplexing how many who do not hold to such ideals decide what is real and what is not real.

If I were to say to you any given number of things; whatever that may be; how do you decide if I am truthful or if what I'm saying is a possibility, etc?
Click to expand...

Was going to ask for examples, but then realized the first sentence contains at least 2 possibilities, of which I believe you believe are truthful. The reality of both (or all such) assertions is that they don't really pertain to me. That would have something to do with the value I would place in them. Though I may entertain them as if they could apply to me.

My understanding of most things scientific is there is a number of observers who find certain hypothesized phenomenon to have a degree of probability associated with it, but aren't (usually) claiming certainty. At the core of any ideology, fundamental ideas are generally stated more assertively as matters of fact, and so I would take them as assumptions (likely resting on faith) and then from there just treat things based on various levels of probability. My awareness of certain, recurring assertions, may change a bit day to day, but are within a range that between certainty and uncertainty/questionable. Things that I 'know' about myself, have a fairly high degree of certainty. Things others may claim about me, or about things that pertain to me, I tend to find questionable, but will generally contemplate for a bit before I respond (with say a question or acknowledgment of agreement).
 
A

Acim

Revelation all the time
NewGuyOnTheBlock said:
"Fiction" would be something written while intended to be fiction: "The Force" of Star Wars or "The DaVinci Code" of "The Necronomicon". It is perplexing to me that people would hold these things to be true; even when the creators of such had no intent of such things being held true, nor held them true themselves (as far as we know).
Click to expand...

Hmmm, the Force (from SW) may be good example of what you're getting at, but I find it challenging to say it was intended as fiction. Hence, my desire to question the probability that it exists in our world, our lives. Given the many tangents it could have, I would think it is worthy of its own thread, but will let you (OP) decide if it is worthy of discussion in this thread.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top