“Facts are needed to establish theories but theories are needed to make sense of facts.”
Discuss this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge.
AoKs
Natural Sciences
Relationship between fact and theory supports statement.
Counterclaim: ??
History
It would be an irresponsible historian who would suggest a theory with no facts to support it.
Arts
What is a fact in art?
Can theory drive art for example postmodernists interpretations of what art is?
Definition of fact
Evidently true
Based on evidence
Social facts
Human Sciences
Difficult to establish facts due to the un testable nature of many disciplines.
Theory
Examples of theories that do not work.
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Role of personal and shared knowledge?
Religious Knowledge Systems
Do religious facts exist?
Ethics.
Ethical theories exist that are based on seemingly similar facts. How is this the case?
Maths
Are axioms facts?
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Platonist or structuralist view of mathematics could change how we view subject in reference to the question.