Facts Are Earned

This essay by Bry Willis critiques the common assumption that facts represent a direct, unmediated window into reality following the decline of metaphysical Truth. Building on the philosophy of Bernard Williams, the author argues that facts are actually stabilised achievements produced through specific practices like measurement, classification, and institutional agreement. Using an analogy from classical physics, Willis demonstrates that objectivity does not require immediate contact with the world but emerges from convergence across different mediated encounters. The text warns that treating facts as "brute" or "innocent" realities leads to moralised disagreements and a lack of epistemic responsibility in fields such as jurisprudence and public discourse. Ultimately, the source advocates for a truthfulness without innocence, which requires individuals to be transparent about the tools and methods used to establish factual claims. By acknowledging that facts are constrained by resistance rather than simply found, Willis seeks to protect objectivity from both dogmatic certainty and total relativism.📝 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18133958