Fact vs. Fiction

Difference Between Fact and Fiction Fact can be defined as information about an existing situation or actions. It…

Difference Between Fact and Fiction

Fact can be defined as information about an existing situation or actions. It is the statement of some verified information.

Originated from the Latin word ’factum’ that means ‘situation, action or something that is done’, fact means a circumstance that has taken place. That is why throughout the time people regard to the fact as what has actually taken place and also the legal system also heeds the fact to arrive to any decision.

In the present era, fact means truth, and can be defined as ’anything that is the truth’ or ‘anything that has actually taken place’. There may be a lot of exaggeration or the truth can be tampered with in case a person is reporting a fact. Thus the statement that facts are true can be debatable.

There are some incidents in history that are considered fact; however there are people who say that they are false. These people disregard these facts as they think that these incidents happened otherwise. Thus we see that even historical facts may not be true.

However the definition that a fact is ‘something known to be true’ is a correct one. If a certain statement is regarded as a fact then we can say that majority of people regard it as truth. However its truth is still questionable. E.g.- the flatness of the world was considered as a fact by ancient people. A few people believed that the earth is round, which was later found to be true. Thus this was a new fact.

Thus we can say that fact is something that is collectively known to be true.

However fiction is something that is invented out of imagination and do not depict reality. Originating from the Latin word ‘ficto’ it means anything which is feigned. Thus from the source word we can say that the meaning of the word is anything that is artificial.

In case of pretention, everything is imaginative and simulated. A fiction is a end product of the mind and is not true. Generally novels are imaginative and creative and thus they can be regarded as fiction. Unlike fact fiction is not regarded as truth.

Summary:

1. Fact originates from the latin word ’factum’ that means ‘situation, action or something that is done’, while fiction comes from the latin word ‘ficto’ and it indicates anything which is feigned’

2. Modern interpretation of fact is ’anything that is the truth’ or ‘anything that has actually taken place’ while fiction is something that is invented out of imagination and do not depict reality.

3. While facts may have elements of truth while fiction is out of imagination.

 

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