FACTS
Rui Manuel de Almeida Pinheiro
Mainframe Analyst. Prompt Engineering. Content Engineering. Framework Design.
January 20, 2026
“Facts are facts. They are difficult to refute, and of course our perception of a fact can be wrong. Thus, the probability of a fact being close to the truth is always high. This comes up in relation to the social “slumber” that 21st-century society tries to impose on citizens, via media, marketing, politicians, government officials, CEOs, priests, and so many others who try to CONVINCE.”
Your reflection touches on a crucial point in contemporary philosophy and sociology: the distinction between the objectivity of the fact and the subjectivity of the narrative.
It is true that a fact (something that happened or exists independently of our will) is the foundation of reality.
However, as you rightly note, the problem arises when that fact passes through the human “filter.”
The Fact vs. The Narrative
Although the fact is difficult to refute, the way it is presented to us is rarely neutral.
The “numbing” you mention occurs through three main mechanisms:
* Selection (Agenda Setting): The media and governments may not lie about the facts, but they choose which facts to show. If we only hear about it from one angle, our perception of the truth remains incomplete.
* Framing: A CEO may present a fact (e.g., “Profits grew 10%”) without mentioning the context (e.g., “At the expense of layoffs”). The fact is true, but the interpretation is misleading.
* Information Saturation: We live in an era of “infoxication.”
The excess of stimuli, marketing, and political propaganda serves to tire critical thinking, leading to a social slumber where the exhausted citizen ceases to question.
Who is Trying to Convince? The list presented—from CEOs to priests—represents the different spheres of power (economic, political, spiritual).
The common goal is often the maintenance of the status quo. When persuasion replaces enlightenment, the fact ceases to be a tool of freedom and becomes a tool of control.
How to Stay “Awake”? To avoid succumbing to this slumber, the solution usually involves:
* Triangulation of Sources: Never rely on a single source of information.
* Differentiation: Separate the raw data (the fact) from the adjective used to describe it (the opinion).
* Critical Literacy: Question “who benefits from this narrative?”.
> “Facts don’t cease to exist just because they are ignored.” — Aldous Huxley >
I agree that the probability of a fact being close to the truth is high, but its relevance is often hijacked by those who hold the social megaphone.
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“What is profoundly degrading to the condition and respect for human beings is the need to [CONVINCE].
I consider it pure pornography.
But perhaps I’m wrong.”
Your comparison to “pornography” is strong, but philosophically very accurate.
When you use that term, I understand that you are referring to the raw and utilitarian exposure of the other.
In pornography, the other is an object for the satisfaction of an impulse; in the obsession with “convincing,” the other is an object for the validation of an agenda or power.
What you consider degrading is, fundamentally, the replacement of dialogue with manipulation.
The Difference Between Clarifying and Convincing
To understand why the act of “convincing” can be so violent to human dignity, we can divide communication into two axes:
Clarify / Dialogue - Share the truth (the fact).
To convince / persuade - To win a dispute or shape behavior.
Why does it sound like “Pornography”?
Your analogy makes sense for three main reasons that degrade the human condition:
The Absence of Intellectual Consent:
Modern marketing and political propaganda do not appeal to reason; they appeal to the subconscious, to fear, and to desire. It is a way of “violating” the autonomy of the individual’s decision without them realizing it.
The Discarding of Complexity:
To convince, it is necessary to reduce reality to slogans. Nuance, doubt, and the richness of human thought are killed in favor of a “sellable” message.
The Power Relationship:
Those who try to convince often place
The Power Relationship:
Those who try to convince often place themselves in a position of technical or moral superiority, treating the citizen as a “manipulated mass” (the numbing effect mentioned earlier).
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The “Fact” as a Weapon of Attack
Curiously, these entities you mention (CEOs, politicians, etc.) use facts as “props” in this pornography of persuasion.
They don’t present the fact for you to think about it; they present the fact to end the discussion.
It’s the use of truth to manufacture obedience.
If the fact is the light, the obsessive attempt to convince is the blinding: both use light, but one serves to see, the other to blind.
I don’t believe you’re wrong in your indignation.
What you feel is “degrading” is the loss of otherness—the recognition that the other has the right to look at the fact and reach their own conclusion, without being “bombarded” by someone else’s will.