I recently got into a heated debate with my girlfriend regarding the differences between what one considers judgement, opinion, and fact. Where do you draw the line?
The example I gave is-
Judgement: Judy always wears ugly dresses.
Opinion: I don't like the dresses Judy wears.
Fact: The dresses Judy wears are poorly rated online.
We started this debate because she felt that I was being judgmental when I said that there are more higher-ranked universities in Massachusetts than in Pennsylvania or New York. Is this truly a judgement, or more of an opinion bordering a fact (it's ranked online)?
Best Answer
Without getting into a long discussion about epistemology, your statement as phrased still has subjective aspects, especially in "online" (which source) and "more higher-ranked." Does the latter mean having more listings within the top 10? 100? 4000? Pennsylvania and New York have more accredited universities than Massachusetts and some of them are pretty highly ranked.
A more objective fact might state that "The Times Higher Education overall top 10 includes more universities in Massachusetts than in Pennsylvania or New York." The Times is expressing their judgment when they make those assertions about some universities being better than others.