Letter to the Editor

Editor,

I wonder about the distinction between "fact" and "truth". The factuality of a thing is its actual existence. The truth of a thing is its "essence", if it has attained one. I may get my statistics wrong, but still draw attention to some outstanding problem. And you've heard how it's possible to lie with statistics.

But too much weight is given to the distinction between the two in many quarters, since there is a strong family resemblance. Truth and Fact have mingled blood. Fact is the noble brother of truth. "The truth", we're informed, "will set us Free". The correlation between fact and truth is very high.

The truth in this discussion, tho interesting, is mainly a digression from the task of feeding and giving drink to over a billion needy people in this global village. The end for us will not be determined so much by how we can distinguish semantically between "fact" and "truth", but by whether we met others' needs.

I think this is all (the above) True. And a fact as well.

Richard Kovac



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