Originally posted by twhiteheadNo, statements about facts are true or not.
No, statements about facts are true or not. We could however call a fact a truth, but that is a result of the flexibility of the English language.
In English 'fact' can mean an actual fact or a statement about fact so it gets rather confusing.
So if the statements about the facts are true does not mean the facts are also true?
Originally posted by StarrmanIs reality aboslutely real?
No. Facts, as opposed to relations of ideas in a Humean sense, are observable, contingent, emprircal entities. As such they are only confirmed by probability and repetition. As far as I am concerned, the perseverence of factual knowledge is inductive in basis and as such is relative to experience.
I guess that would depend on if you believe murder is absolutely wrong. In order for something to be absolutely wrong, there would have to be a higher order or law stating so. I can't think of any higher order or law that atheists belive in. I am not a self proclaimed atheist but I would think an atheist would adhere to a more relativistic approach to a deviant act. That is he would interpret circumstances such as: does it go against societies norms (in the case of murder yes), was there a reaction to it (becasue some atheists would believe if nobody finds out, then its not wrong), or if someone were to find out, then would it be considered wrong. I think an atheist would think about these things in order to determine wrongness so no, a true atheist does not think murder is absolutely wrong.