Confident declarations or statements presented as facts. Claims made without necessarily providing proof or evidence.
From Latin 'assertio' meaning a claiming or defending, derived from 'asserere' meaning to claim or maintain. The word entered English through Old French in the late Middle Ages, maintaining its sense of confident declaration.
In philosophy and logic, assertions are distinguished from questions, commands, or expressions of emotion - they're statements that can be true or false, making them the building blocks of rational argument. However, the confidence implied by 'assertion' often masks the uncertainty that should accompany many claims, revealing how language can disguise intellectual humility.
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