Distinguishing Facts from Opinions

1
Distinguishing Facts from Opinions
Chapter 12
This tutorial will help you separate facts from
opinions.
2

• When people speak of a "fact" they typically mean
  either
• a true statement
• ("The Eiffel Tower is in Paris")
• a verified or proven statement
• ("Planets exist in other solar systems")
• a true statement that is verified or can be
  verified by
• established methods of proof
• ("President Ulysses S. Grant really is buried in
  Grant's
• Tomb)"

3

• The term "opinion" is also used in various
  senses. For our
• purposes, the two most relevant senses are
• a. a claim that someone believes to be true
• ("In Dr. Andrews' opinion, the operation was a
  success")
• a claim that someone believes to be true without
• conclusive proof or evidence
• ("Capital punishment should be abolished")

4
"Abraham Lincoln was a greater president than
Ronald Reagan.""Planets exist in other solar
systems."
As these distinctions make clear, in some senses
"facts" and "opinions" are mutually exclusive,
and in other senses they are not. Thus, it is a
"fact" that Lincoln was a greater president than
Ronald Reagan in the sense that this is (in our
opinion!) a true statement. Yet it is not a fact
in either of the two other senses identified. It
is neither a proven statement nor an objectively
verifiable statement. Similarly, it is an
"opinion" that planets exist in other solar
systems in the sense that some people do in fact
believe this. Yet it is not an opinion in the
sense that it is believed without conclusive
evidence or proof, for scientists have now
observed many such planets through powerful
telescopes.
5
As critical thinkers, we should be aware of these
different senses of "fact" and "opinion." Even
more important, however, is the ability to
recognize and distinguish three kinds of
statementsVerified facts true statements that
have been amply verified or documented. ("The
Earth revolves around the sun.")Verifiable
factual statements statements that haven't been
verified or falsified beyond a reasonable doubt,
but conceivably could be. ("There is intelligent
life in outer space.")Matters of opinion
statements that cannot be objectively verified or
falsified. ("Human cloning should be banned."
"Tom Cruise is sexier than Brad Pitt." "Beach
vacations are better than mountain vacations.")
6
Now let's practice what we've learned.For each
of the following statements, say whether it
is(a) a verified fact(b) a verifiable
factual statement(c) a matter of opinionIn
some cases, you may need to do some quick
research to decide if a statement is a verified
fact.
7
"Same-sex marriages should be legalized."

• Is this a verified fact, a verifiable factual
  statement, or a
• matter of opinion?

8
"Same-sex marriages should be legalized."

• This is a matter of opinion.
• Value judgments such as this may be true or
  false, based
• on good reasons or not based on good reasons.
  However,
• they cannot be objectively verified or falsified.

9
"The tallest mountain in the world is Mt.
Everest."

• Is this a verified fact, a verifiable factual
  statement, or a
• matter of opinion?

10
"The tallest mountain in the world is Mt.
Everest."

• This is a verified fact.
• This statement has been amply verified by a
  variety of
• high-tech and low-tech techniques. Of course,
  it's
• conceivable that the statement is false. But the
  statement
• has been verified beyond a reasonable doubt, and
  this is
• sufficient for it to count as a verified fact.

11
"It will rain or snow tomorrow in Cleveland."

• Is this a verified fact, a verifiable factual
  statement, or a
• matter of opinion?

12
"It will rain or snow tomorrow in Cleveland."

• This is a verifiable factual statement.
• Although this statement hasn't yet been reliably
  verified or
• falsified, it certainly can be.

13
"The Loch Ness monster does not exist."

• Is this a verified fact, a verifiable factual
  statement, or a
• matter of opinion?

14
"The Loch Ness monster does not exist."

• This is a verifiable factual statement.
• Although many extensive and sophisticated
  searches have
• been conducted at Loch Ness and have found no
  trace of
• the alleged monster, it cannot be said that the
• nonexistence of the monster has been proven
  beyond a
• reasonable doubt. However, technology exists that
  could
• prove beyond a reasonable doubt whether the
  creature
• exists. Thus, this is a verifiable factual
  statement.

15
"Pepsi tastes better than Coke."
This is a matter of opinion. Taste preferences
are relative and vary from person to person.
Thus, there is no objective matter of fact here
that could be settled by established methods of
inquiry or proof.
X

• This is the end of the tutorial