If facts don’t matter, then how is it that every side of every issue declares it to be the case that the “facts favor my side”? The moment we allowed for the validity of the argument — that there are “alternative sets of facts” — the entire structure of rational discourse crumbled.
However you want to call the foundational basis of the Western Philosophical traditions — of the Socratic Method; Rational Discourse; The Adversarial System: The Dialectical Method of Argumentation, etc. — it was always based upon a number of propositional assumptions, including: A. There is ultimately only one “Truth” with a capital T; B. that, even if there might be some subsets of smaller “truths”, they all become subservient to the greater recognition of “The Truth”, and C. Once all contestants recognize this, no matter how arrogantly we want to resist, we must concede the existence of the greater Truth over the lesser ones.
Schopenhauer was reported to have stated that there are no real lies, but rather, only “crippled truths”, but one wonders. Russell, of course, countered with his mischievous statement, and with one stroke dismantled the age-old Correspondence theory of Truth with that nonsensical proposition: “The present King of France is bald”. As there is no kind of France, he cannot be bald, and yet we all understand the rationality of such a statement, don’t we?
Yet, never let this Post-Factual World fool you into believing that in all areas of life, in every arena of discourse, in fullness of words — that facts simply “don’t matter”.
For example, for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a chronic medical condition such that the medical condition impacts the Federal or Postal employee’s daily attempt to make a living — i.e., continue to work in his or her career of choice with the Federal or Postal system — don’t ever think that “facts don’t matter”, because they matter very, very much.
Contact a lawyer who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS, and don’t let this Post-Factual World deter you from the importance of arguing your unique set of facts to OPM.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.
OPM Disability Retirement, Et Cetera… 