Re: The Age to Marry In Medieval England

Bill Arnold wrote:

BA: I beg to differ. That is precisely my point: a statement of fact is a fact.

Renia: I am 176 years old. Fact. Unless it flies in the face of reality. OK.

BA: Anyone on this forum can make a statement and it is fact until challenged, unless of course it flies in the face of reality.

Renia: OK, King Harold was killed by getting an arrow in the eye at the Battle of Hastings. Fact or myth?

BA: Precisely my point, Renia. Nobody knows because it is a statement of fact.

I'm sorry, Bill, but are you trolling?

If nobody knows, then it is not a fact at all.


It stands on its own statement. I am not making this up: statements of facts
are facts. For instance: if I am sitting with you on a park bench in broad daylight
and ask you what if it is day or night, you might think I was blind, yes or no?

I might think you had your eyes shut or wonder if you were about to make a joke.


However, you answer day. You have made a statement of fact. Was it correct.
By the details I gave you of the event, you and I would conclude yes, that statement
of fact was correct. It you had answered night that would also have been a
statement of fact. Do you not understand? And of course, by the details given
you and I would conclude no, that that statement of fact was not correct.

Therefore it is not a fact. I have to ask, do you not understand?

You are talking about facts. By cloaking it in the phrase "statement of fact", does not make these opinions and ideas into facts.

I thought you said you taught English?


BA: So, I ask YOU: someone on this list wrote that in the medieval period
if a marriage was annulled then the children were illegitimate and ipso facto
their inheritance was void, whatever. Understand, nobody has challenged
that statement of fact and it still lingers: yes, I know stabs have been made
at it, but I have not seen a subject heading which clearly establishes the
truth and certainty of that statement of fact. In fact, I am beginning to think
I am one of few on this list who understands reality :)

Many people make statements which they think are facts based on what they have been told or taught.

On a forum such as this, other people will come along who have a different interpretation of what they have been told or taught.

This is the nature of history. All history is interpretation of the evidence. Another word for "evidence", in this context, is the word "fact".

The word "fact" is often used wrongly, when people declare "such-and-such" to be true, when, actually, they are quite mistaken.

Facts are only things KNOWN to be true, not things which are THOUGHT to be true.

This forum is a long catalogue of debates over genealogical and historical evidence. It is a long catalogue of differing theories and interpretations.

This is perfectly normal in historical studies and not at all unusual.

Unlike science, in history, there are no absolutes. Everything is open to interpretation. That is why it is one of the humanities, not one of the sciences.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Theory of beliefs, belief fields
    ... a four dimensional reality on a two dimensional plane. ... would be reproduced by brains as a necessity ... (Would it make sense to use sparse grids of receptors with angled inner ... But history and memory will be ...
    (sci.econ)
  • What if ???
    ... and it might explain why "reality" at the quantum ... their history, by our constant observation and focus upon them: ... also begin to find evidence for this as if the energy/information in our ... the "Jack the Ripper" case as an example of the 'uncertainty principle' ...
    (talk.philosophy.misc)
  • Re: IEEE SPECTRUM magazine: Apollo 13, We Have a Solution <- WARNING! CT Troll Thread!
    ... I note that that long and established history continues. ... >> spending lots of energy with the folks who believe that NASA is ... >> relationships that go back to long before they became astronauts, ... temper that with the level of hostility that this forum is known for. ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: I found this on the net and just had to post it...
    ... >> this forum on topic or your post will be forwarded to your ISP. ... > What I post to AGR is not within your authority to allow or prohibit, ... > by fighting the existing reality. ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)
  • Re: microgravity - I stand corrected <- WARNING! ~CT Troll Thread! Killfile Accordingly!
    ... orbital physics that has permeated popular understanding, ... consider the current thread about Apollo 13. ... This forum claims to be about history. ...
    (sci.space.history)