--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Truths emerge from facts, but they dip…" description: "\"Truths emerge from facts, but they dip forward into facts again and add to them; which facts again create or reveal new truth (the word is indifferent)..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/william-james-228_add_truths-emerge-from-facts-but-they-dip-fo_779257.png" --- # Truths emerge from facts, but they dip forward into facts… ![“Truths emerge from facts, but they dip forward into facts again and add to them; which facts again create or reveal new truth (the word is indifferent) and so on indefinitely. The 'facts' themselves meanwhile are not true. They simply are. Truth is the function of the beliefs that start and…” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/william-james-228_add_truths-emerge-from-facts-but-they-dip-fo_779257.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/william-james-228_add_truths-emerge-from-facts-but-they-dip-fo_779257.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/william-james-228_add_truths-emerge-from-facts-but-they-dip-fo_779257.png) > “Truths emerge from facts, but they dip forward into facts again and add to them; which facts again create or reveal new truth (the word is indifferent) and so on indefinitely. The 'facts' themselves meanwhile are not true. They simply are. Truth is the function of the beliefs that start and terminate among them.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth and facts are interdependent; facts generate truths, which in turn shape new facts, creating an endless loop of belief and reality **In simple terms:** Facts and truths constantly influence each other Key Takeaway Recognize the fluid nature of knowledge Themes philosophy epistemology logic Mood analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - Scientific research - daily decision‑making - political discourse Key Concepts relativism constructivism belief systems Questions to Reflect On - How do we discern reliable facts? - Can belief shape reality? A Different Perspective May lead to relativism, undermining objective standards ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/) ## Related quotes > [“The sense of a truth-function of p is a function of the sense of p.   Denial, logical addition, logical multiplication, etc. etc., are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-sense-of-a-truth-function-of-p-is-a-function-of-the-sense-of-p/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [Facts do not convey truth. That's a mistake. Facts create norms, but truth creates illumination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/facts-do-not-convey-truth-that-s-a-mistake-facts-create-norms-but/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Facts as facts do not always create a spirit of reality, because reality is a spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/facts-as-facts-do-not-always-create-a-spirit-of-reality-because/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“I will talk about truth again, without which (without the word truth , without the mystery truth ) there would be no writing. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-ne-cixous/i-will-talk-about-truth-again-without-which-without-the-word-truth/) [Hélène Cixous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-ne-cixous/) > [“There is a difference between the fact and the truth. The fact is what you may be experiencing at any particular point in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-difference-between-the-fact-and-the-truth-the-fact-is-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Always be good to yourself and others. Always do what is right even if doing something wrong is quicker, more rewarding or easier. Always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/always-be-good-to-yourself-and-others-always-do-what-is-right-even-if/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“That was the worst truth of all: alone. The word was a kind of death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-perry/that-was-the-worst-truth-of-all-alone-the-word-was-a-kind-of-death/) [Anne Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-perry/) > [“None of us actually lives as though there were no truth. Our problem is more with the notion of a single, unchanging truth. 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Reality is ironic .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-roberts/reality-in-truth-is-what-is-the-word-reality-is-ironic/) [Adam Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-roberts/) > [Girl, he wants to dip you in Frosted Flakes and have you for breakfast. That's his favorite cereal, by the way." I...had no words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/girl-he-wants-to-dip-you-in-frosted-flakes-and-have-you-for-breakfast/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [When good media takes a bounded form, and comes once in a period of time, it begs to be consumed as a whole -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/when-good-media-takes-a-bounded-form-and-comes-once-in-a-period-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. 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