Distinguish OPINION from TRUTH
➢ Why is it important to distinguish
between fact and opinion?
➢ Some have too much trust in
their self-found ‘knowledge’ that
they disregard what others say
about a certain topic. This is
dangerous since one’s self-found
‘knowledge’ may represent only a
partial and subjective point of
view.
➢ We ought to be vigilant against
believing that what we believe as
true is actually the absolute truth,
for our respective ‘knowledge’ may
be none less than mere opinion
and not the truth.
➢ What people regard as true may
not necessarily be the absolute
truth. Naturally involving
persistent asking, doubting, and
inquiry, philosophy helps to
distinguish true, objective
knowledge from subjective
opinion.
DISTINGUISH OPINION FROM
TRUTH: STATEMENT OF FACT VS.
STATEMENT OF OPINION
STATEMENT OF FACT possesses
objective content and is wellsupported by the available evidence
STATEMENT OF OPINION content is
either subjective or not well
supported by the available evidence.
➢ Fact is a statement that is true
and can be verified or proved
objectively.
➢ Opinion is a statement that holds
a touch of belief, usually telling
how a person feels. Opinions are
not always true and some cannot
be proven.
➢ opinions can be emotional
outbursts or merely
interpretations but some opinions
are more thoughtful, more
informed, more coherent, and
more important than others.
➢ Opinion is less concrete. It's a
view formed in the mind of a
person about a particular issue. In
other words it is what someone
believes or thinks and is not
necessarily the truth.
➢ statement that go beyond
providing facts
Distinguishing opinion from truth
BASIS
FACT
OPINION
FOR
COMPARIS
ON
Meaning something that
can be verified
or proved to be
true
judgement
or belief
about
something
Based on Observation,
research, or
other
admissible
source or
authority.
Assumption
or personal
view
What is
it?
Objective
reality
Verificati Possible
on
Represen Something
ts
really
happened
Subjective or
relative
statement
Not probable
A perception
about
something
Change
Universal
Words
Shown with
unbiased
words
Differs from
person to
person or
culture to
culture
Expressed
with biased
words
Debatabl No
e
Influence Naturally has
the power to
influence
others
Yes
Does not
have ‘real’
power to
influence
others
* If something is true, it must also be
a fact, right?
➢ Fact is something that’s
indisputable, based on empirical
research and quantifiable
measures.
➢ Facts go beyond theories- proven
through calculation and
experience, or they’re something
that definitively occurred in the
past.
➢ Fact is something concrete that
can be proven.
➢ You can find facts in legal records,
scientific findings, encyclopedias,
atlases, etc. In other words, facts
are the truth and are accepted as
such.
➢ Truth is entirely different; it may
include fact, but it can also include
belief.
➢ Oftentimes, people will accept
things as true because they fall
closer to their comfort zones, are
assimilated easily into their
comfort zones, or reflect their
preconceived notions of reality.
➢ You can find facts in legal records,
scientific findings, encyclopedias,
atlases, etc.
➢ Facts are the truth and are
accepted as such.
Terms to examine in determining
Fact/Truth
CONCLUSION - judgment based on
certain facts
BELIEFS -statements that expresses
convictions that are not easily and
clearly explained by facts.
EXPLANATIONS - statements that
assume the claim to be true and
provide reasons why the statement
is true.
ARGUMENTS - series of statements
that provide reasons to convince
the reader or listener that a claim
or opinion is truthful.
FALLACIES - arguments based on
faulty reasoning.
BIAS -disproportionate weight in
favor of or against an idea or thing,
usually in a way that is closedminded, prejudicial, or unfair.
➢ a strong, preconceived notion of
someone or something, based on
information we have, perceive to
have, or lack
➢ a subjective way of thinking that
originates from an individual’s
own perception or points of view.
➢ there are different types of bias
people experience that influence
and affect the way we think,
behave, and perceive others.
Some examples of Fallacies:
AD HOMINEM - (Attacking the
person): This fallacy occurs when,
instead of addressing someone's
argument or position, you
irrelevantly attack the person or
some aspect of the person who is
making the argument. The
fallacious attack can also be direct
to membership in a group or
institution.
Ad hominem arguments can take
many forms, from basic namecalling to more complex rhetoric.
For example, an ad hominem
argument can involve simply
insulting a person instead of
properly replying to a point that
they raised, or it can involve
questioning their motives in
response to their criticism of the
current state of things.
EX:
“you’re stupid, so I don’t care what
you have to say”,
APPEAL TO FORCE (ARGUMENTUM AD BACULUM OR
THE "MIGHT-MAKES-RIGHT"
FALLACY): This argument uses
force, the threat of force, or some
other unpleasant backlash to make
the audience accept a conclusion.
EX: “bullying”
APPEAL TO EMOTION - arguing
through feelings rather than facts;
involves manipulating people’s
emotions to strengthen their
support for the conclusion of an
unsound argument.
EX:
“when we asked to do away with
leftover foods as others are hungry..”
APPEAL TO THE POPULAR Argumentum Ad Populum, Appeal
to the Majority, Appeal to the
People, Bandwagon Fallacy, and
Consensus Gentium
➢ a claim based on popular opinion
or on a common belief among a
specific group of people.
EX:
“Most people believe that there is
life after death, so there is life after
death.”
BEGGING THE QUESTION - you use
the point you’re trying to prove as
an argument to prove that very
same point. Rather than proving
the conclusion is true, it assumes
it.
➢ also called circular reasoning
EX:
“God is real because the Bible says
so, and the Bible is from God.”
* others like Fallacy of
composition, Fallacy of division,
cause and effect etc.
Some examples of Bias:
CONFIRMATION BIAS – the
tendency to seek out information
that supports something you
already believe
EX:
“a person believes left-handed
people are more creative than
right-handed people. Whenever
this person encounters a person
that is both left-handed and
creative, they place greater
importance on this "evidence" that
supports what they already
believe.”
CULTURAL BIAS – (implicit bias)
involves those who perceive other
cultures as being abnormal,
outlying, or exotic, simply based on
a comparison to their own culture.
EX:
(language/accent/pronunciation)
OPTIMISM OR PESSIMISM BIAS how individuals are more likely to
estimate a positive outcome if they
are in a good mood, and a negative
outcome if they are in a bad mood.
EX:
“risky situations” (optimism bias)
“overly cautious” (pessimism bias)