Deduction, the process of reaching a decision or answer by
thinking about the known facts.
Known Facts. How does one distinguish a known fact
from an assumed or perceived fact? What makes a fact a fact?
Usually, a fact is something that can be demonstrated to be true
either with evidence and or proven to be true.
Before I started to read a lot of books on philosophy, I never
really considered whether a fact is actually a fact, now however,
I am pondering whether outside of mathematics, facts are more
often than not influenced by the ''eyes of the beholder''.
History tells us that facts often tend to change as the sciences
uncovers new ''facts'' regularly.
(Bloodletting does not cure, the earth is not flat, earth is not the center
of the universe etc.etc.)
Confusing the subjective with the objective or vice versa, is
something many of us do without even being aware of
doing so. We may feel as if we are very logical in our reasoning,
it makes perfect sense to us, so it must be a fact.
But, is it really possible to be objective as a human being?
Is it possible as a human being to be bias free?
According to Emily Pronin, we all have a bias ''blind spot''.
Through research Emily together with other colleagues have done,
results have shown that we are largely immune/blind to our
own biases.
We are quick to spot biases that others may have,
but less quick to spot our own.
Pronin and her colleagues found that when we evaluate others,
we tend to go by behaviours, but introspection often fails
to disclose to us how our own biases affect our behaviours.
Bias, something that often feels like a ''fact'', is in
fact not a fact, it is predilection. Whaaaaa...t?
(A preference for or against is already present in our minds,
although commonly hidden in our subconscious.)
When my son became a goth, folks were very quick to
tell me that being a goth was all manner of wrong.
At first I listened them, and then it dawned on me that
I didn't really know what being a goth meant for my son.
So I asked him, he made sense, and that was that.
It was a valuable lesson for me, so I decided to confront
a number of biases that I found hidden just beneath
my knee-jerk reactions.
Not all drunks are irrational and or violent, not all homeless
people are so due to their own doing, not all ''crazy behaving''
people are crazy, not all jobless people are dole bludgers,
well, the list was long.
To overcome my biases, I decided to confront them, and
that meant joining a number of charities dealing with
the realities and experiences that so many people
who deal with these issues go through every day.
I think that perhaps we throw around the terms ''fact'' and
''known fact'' too lightly and carelessly at times in our
haste to score a point, to be right, or to win a debate.
Whether something is a fact or not matters little to
someone who has already decided that they
KNOW the REAL fact.
A tool I have found to be really useful when it comes
to checking up on my biases, is to ask myself:
''Do I have any evidence, any substantial proof that
verifies my stance on this matter?
What is the source? Is the source reliable?
Is it backed by a number of different experts in the field?
Is there an underlying hidden agenda?''
In my view: A well founded deduction depends on reliable facts,
verifiable evidence, and a consideration of
many possibilities in order to be trustworthy.
''We don't see things as they are,
we see things as we are.''
(Anais Nin)
about the image: acrylic on paper, it's not a print, this is a hand-painted
piece.
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