Brute fact
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Brute facts are facts which are facts in and of themselves, while institutional facts are, arguably, conventional. Institutional facts require the support of an institution. The term was coined by G. E. M. Anscombe and popularized by John Searle.
For instance, the fact that a certain piece of paper is money is an institutional fact, because that property is dependent on the institution that created and controls that money and that piece of paper will only be money as long as the members of that society believe that it is so. However, it is a brute fact that a certain piece of paper is a piece of paper.
While brute facts are true in and of themselves, institutional facts are, arguably, conventional.
The more common but less technical definition of brute fact is "a terminus of a series of explanations which is not itself further explicable".
See also
- First principle
- Four causes
- Is and ought problem – the distinction between factual claims and value or normative claims
- Matter of fact and matter of law
- Münchhausen trilemma
Sources
- Oxford Companion to Philosophy 2005 "Brute Fact".
- Anscombe, G. E. M. (1958): "On Brute facts". Analysis 18: 69-72.
