Fact

About

A fact is a belief for which there is sufficiently strong evidence that it may be accepted as true for practical purposes. In other words, it may be taken as a premise upon which to base reasoning towards further conclusions with no need to leave room for doubt.

In the scientific view, facts may always be questioned – but debate regarding any given fact must reach a certain state of credibility before it can be demoted from fact-hood. That is, merely questioning a fact (even on rational, factual grounds) is not sufficient to prevent its continued acceptance as fact; there must be a scientific consensus that what was once considered fact should no longer be considered as such.

Outlinks

Reference

• Wikipedia
• Conservapedia
• LessWrong Wiki: no article as of 2015-11-03; see common knowledge, absolute certainty, Special:Search/Fact
• RationalWiki: redirects to reality as of 2015-11-03