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An
issue is either a matter of fact or a matter of opinion.
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Determining
which of these is the case is extremely
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important
because an argument about each kind of issue
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requires
different tactics and expectations.
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Most basically, an issue is a matter of fact when
there are
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generally agreed upon criteria for settling
it. On the
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other hand, there are no agreed upon criteria for
settling
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an issue that is a matter of opinion.
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It is helpful to remember that when two people
are on
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opposite sides of an issue that is a matter of
fact, it is
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impossible that both of them are correct. This is not the
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case with a matter of opinion.
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