🙋🏼♀️ Dearest you,
My high school Philosophy teacher used to say 'I've never heard facts speak for themselves'.
The first time I heard him say this, I thought he meant that there is no such thing as objectivity. Later, it dawned on me that his mantra is not about facts, it's about the way in which we relate to them.
One of the greatest mindfucks that has emerged over the past few years is the rhetoric that denies the existence of facts.
Facts are objective truths. There cannot be alternative facts, because there is no alternative world. Thus, so-called alternative facts are just lies.
It is true that we relate to facts in a subjective manner, but that does not undermine their objectivity. Let's say it rains. That is a fact. There are endless ways in which you can use your unique subjectivity to relate to those facts:
Maybe you don't like that it rains, thus you choose to ignore it and go outside anyway.
Maybe it's in your self-interest to go outside anyway, so you might hide the fact that it rains from others right until you are all at the door ready to go and there seems no way back.
Maybe you project certain feelings and thoughts on the fact that it rains, for example, feelings of joy or annoyance.
Maybe those feelings and thoughts you've projected even lead you to the conviction that this rain is causally related or has a meaning that is not a fact.
No matter what you do, it's still raining. And that's a fact.
In a world where the sole existence of facts can be questioned and consequently, threatened, the language we use around facts matters.
You can change your mind on opinions, theories, and ideas. You can also gain a different perspective or insight on those things. With facts, you don't have those options, as you cannot change your mind on something that is objective. There are only two options: you learn new facts or you reject lies.
Have a great week,
PS: It’s good to be back :)
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