Fact
Fact (事實) in LEX·002 is not a cold, hard stone, but an establishment with conditions. It is not something forever fixed and detached from the observer and the conditions of observation, but a description that can be stably verified within a certain field.
Field definition
The most worthwhile sentence to remember first is:
A fact is not an innate noun; it is a product of observation.
This is not to say facts are illusory, but to say: any establishment relies on conditions. Talking about facts while leaving conditions aside often just disguises a sentence structure of power as an impartial description.
Four Layers of Facts
1. Private Domain Fact
- Thoughts, feelings, imagery, and experiences established within the individual's interior.
- It is real to the person experiencing it.
- But one cannot directly force others to accept it as a consensus.
2. Consensus Fact
- A narrative jointly acknowledged after verification by two or more subjects.
- It is a synchronization point in a relationship.
- It will collapse if the verification is withdrawn.
3. Social Fact
- Rules, customs, laws, and common sense shared by a group over the long term.
- It is to lower the cost of collaboration.
- It does not equal eternal truth.
4. Public Domain Replayable Fact
- Descriptions that can be widely replayed and verified under the current civilization's conditions of observation and measurement.
- Very high stability.
- But still limited by the dimensions of observation.
Why it matters
This entry is very useful because it allows many arguments to first take a breath:
- Not all facts are on the same layer.
- Not all "everyone says so" can be used to suppress an individual.
- Not all "I felt it" should be directly elevated to a public domain establishment.
It makes us ask first:
Which layer's fact is this?
Instead of using "fact" as a hammer right out of the gate.