Facts According to Fleck
According to Ludwik Fleck, facts are not truths. Instead facts are ideas believed to be true according to society. When I thought about that statment, it made sense and kind of reminded me of a scene in Men In Black which starts at 0:35.
Basically society at one point said it was a fact the Earth was flat, which is no longer a fact. Not to long ago Pluto was considered to be a planet. Now if you want to get technique it is a fact that Pluto is only a dwarf planet. Facts can change with new knowledge but if society considers something to be a fact, any other thought is usually considered to be wrong. Tom Lee Jones’ character of Agent K points out “A person is smart, people are dumb.” A person attempting to state something that is true would be ignored if it went against what society believes to be true.
Tags: facts, Fleck, Men In Black, society, Tommy Lee Jones
You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
March 19, 2010 at 12:25 am
Finally, I found someone who wrote about Fleck. I loved reading Fleck. I enjoyed this reading the most of all others we have read this semester. I also love philosophy and felt like that’s what I was reading, so it makes sense that I loved it so much.
I think what you wrote about Fleck makes sense. Fleck is suggesting that facts are not certainties, but rather ideas that change with time. And yes, humans conform with these facts, that are not facts. Therefore, we must be careful not to profess something as true, because when people say something is true they do not really know for certain that it is true. Instead, they are only conforming to the history that said it was true. The line you mention from the movie Men in Black, reminds me of a line by Socrates, probably written by Plato, which is, “The majority is usually wrong.” Quite a brilliant man he was. And he was the person, the person who was killed for believing what his society did not believe.
March 20, 2010 at 1:51 pm
There are moments when one’s passions becomes a positive type creature and sure of a particular notion—occasion that sweetness with a corresponding like intuition—forms, viola, the rich instinctual readiness of mind to prepare a theory to perceived the item and solve the dilemma. And if the force of certainty be with you then memory will serve you well and soon follow, take hold of and bring that impulse forward to meaningful new perspective. Human life—yes movable—invents itself and so allows thought to desire evidence for examination of any hint or a whim. Again, in the morning we rise to live again and in the evening we reflect on that being of existence and its imagery deliberated for the newly constructed concern which connects to the credence, memory. Whether traditional or creative this design touches the psyche to initiate a common mode and that impression occurrence creates mental stages linked to the next competent rehearsal that develops and hopefully delivers a correct formed comprehension.
March 21, 2010 at 9:07 am
I think it’s great that you were able to draw parallels between MIB and Fleck. I think Fleck, despite the fact that he died over 40 years ago and wrote Genesis over 70 years ago, is so contemporary and can really be applied to alot. And what’s even more impressive is that the book is founded on thoughts on syphilis! The MIB comment on the thought collective of the masses is true, but I can’t say that I completely agree with Agent K about the individual as a smart person, as I think it can depend on the person. To clarify, I think this is especially true if you take into account how influenced the individual is by the thought collective and what the thought collective concerns itself with. Good post, Sam.
March 22, 2010 at 9:49 pm
Plato says that we are only remembering everything as we are away from the Forms in the world and can only see hints of them here or there. The British Romantics celebrated the individual and believed that society forced the individual to not see nature. Tommy Lee Jones is just another great man in human history to marvel at the extraordinary capacity of the individual. Love the reference.