EDIT: I put this here so that it can be easily on the Internet so I can link people to it. When I link it to people, they'll be here on Less Wrong. The good it does to people who are already here, I don't really know. I feel that that makes it appropriate for a top-level post here. If you don't think so, comment, as I'm relatively new here. If three people downvote I'll remove it and put in somewhere else.

To Whom I May Have Concerned:

I write this to explain myself to someone I have just disagreed and argued with. I always feel I need to say the same things after a disagreement, so I thought I'd automate it by writing it down once, and just providing people with a link.

So we disagreed on something. Chances are, I upset or offended you. To start with, I apologize for that. I never want to upset or offend someone, and only rarely do I have to. So, I probably messed up there. Not only is offending and upsetting people a wrong thing to do, but it's also incredibly counterproductive. As soon as someone is offended, their mind closes. Arguments become like soldiers, to be fought. Good solutions are missed. Also, as a result of that, you probably like and trust me less, which is unhelpful for my goals. So I probably screwed that up. I'm sorry. I have this arrogant habit of belittling and making fun of people's beliefs when I'm pretty sure they're wrong, but can't quite explain to them why (for instance arguing about theology with people who don't understand intelligence, or arguing politics with people who don't know microeconomics). So I'm sorry for that.

Now, I need to explain some of the frequent causes of misunderstanding which I get with people. To start with, I need to clarify what I mean by truth, opinions, and such things. The first one is the difference between a fact and a belief. A belief is what you think is true. A fact is true. I can't provide an example of the distinction for myself, as Wittgenstein pointed out. But, for instance, saying "I believe that I am male" gives the same information as "I am male."

Introduction to my views on truth

I believe in philosophical realism. This means that I think two contradictory statements cannot both be true. Iron either floats on water or it doesn't. I was born in Australia or I wasn't. So if two people disagree, at least one of them is wrong.

(However, sometimes the disagreement isn't a real disagreement, just people meaning different things with their words. If that was the problem, I would have told you at the time. So, assume it was a real disagreement.)

Now, there's this idea in society that some statements are facts, and some are opinions. For example, people think that "Japan's capital city is Tokyo" is a fact, while "Japan's justice system is immoral" to be opinions. I don't believe there is any qualitative difference between these statements. I believe both.

There are some differences. "Japan's capital city is Tokyo" is a lot more likely to be considered a fact, for a few reasons.

1. I believe "Japan's capital city is Tokyo" is a lot more likely to be true.
2. More people believe it.
3. Fewer common assumptions must be held for us to agree on it. If we want to talk about morality, we need to decide on a moral system first, then we need to figure out how the Japanese justice system corresponds. This takes a lot longer.