Last week, I received a reply to my Facebook post, in which I disputed the alleged neutrality of Dutch public broadcasting. The reply was: “Facts are facts.” I asked him if he was aware of the views of Karl Popper (1902-1994) on this subject (eg, 1974 video). His response made clear that he was not.
In the view of Karl Popper, facts are objective truths while opinions are subjective truths. Objective implies that there must be undisputed evidence. The mere fact (sic!) that many people disagree on the alleged neutrality of Dutch public broadcasting implies – by definition – that its neutrality cannot be a fact.
Some facts have later been evidenced as an opinion. A famous example is that Galileo Galilei evidenced that the Sun – rather than planet Earth – is the center of our Milky Way (ie, heliocentrism). The Church then banned his books as of 1616. On the other hand, Albert Einstein’s opinions became facts.
Increasingly, opinions – a.k.a. subjective truths – are presented as (disputed) facts. Why?
Actually, I’m not sure. It might just be another example of the infinity of human stupidity. Another explanation is that such people truly believe that their opinion is a hard truth. Another possibility is that it’s about conversational tactics (eg, silence your opponent by claiming deliberate falsehoods).
Technology has accelerated the above following the introduction of (i) internet (>1993), and (ii) social media (>2004). Before, any opinion was sent to newspapers, which decided on the relevance for publication. Today, anyone can publish anything regardless of evidence or relevance.
Is the shift from facts to opinions accountable or responsible for the weakening social fabric in society??
I suppose that this shift is part of a much bigger picture. See my diagram below.
My diagram feels like a never-ending cycle with 3 main waves, ie, Needs, Wants & Beliefs.
Nevertheless, science-fiction books and films show societies that have transcended from Beliefs to either an Awakening or Wisdom. For years, I have been contemplating how to transform these individual development stages into collective stages. I still doubt that such a transformation is possible.
The gap between the 3 collective development stages and the 2 subsequent individual development stages can be viewed as an example of the Great Filter in societies (eg, my 2021 blog).
Might technology (eg, humanoid sapiens) be able to transcend from our beliefs??
What a Fool Believes (1978) by the Doobie Brothers ft. Michael McDonald
artist, band, lyrics, video, Wiki-artist, Wiki-band, Wiki-song
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
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