Difference between revisions of "Belief"

From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to search
(12 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 2: Line 2:
 
[[Image:Stairs.jpg|right|frame]]
 
[[Image:Stairs.jpg|right|frame]]
  
'''Belief''' is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the [[truth]] of a proposition. Like the related concepts truth, [[knowledge]], and [[wisdom]], there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief.
+
'''Belief''' is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the [[truth]] of a proposition. Like the related concepts [[truth]], [[knowledge]], and [[wisdom]], there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief.
  
 
== Belief, knowledge and epistemology ==
 
== Belief, knowledge and epistemology ==
  
False beliefs are not knowledge, even if the [[individual]] believes them to be true; a sincere believer in the flat earth theory does not know that the Earth is flat. Unknown facts are not knowledge, because they are not known by any individual; it is the belief element in a true belief that makes the link between a state of affairs and an individual. Unjustified true beliefs are lucky guesses, and therefore not knowledge.
+
Contemporary analytic philosophers of [[mind]] generally use the term "belief" to refer to the attitude we have, roughly, whenever we take something to be the case or regard it as true. To believe something, in this sense, needn't involve actively reflecting on it: Of the vast number of things ordinary adults believe, only a few can be at the fore of the [[mind]] at any single time. Nor does the term "belief", in standard philosophical usage, imply any uncertainty or any extended reflection about the matter in question (as it sometimes does in ordinary English usage). Many of the things we believe, in the relevant sense, are quite mundane: that we have heads, that it's the 21st century, that a coffee mug is on the desk. Forming beliefs is thus one of the most basic and important features of the mind, and the concept of belief plays a crucial role in both [[philosophy]] of mind and [[epistemology]]. The "mind-body problem", for example, so central to philosophy of mind, is in part the question of whether and how a purely physical organism can have beliefs. Much of epistemology revolves around questions about when and how our beliefs are justified or qualify as [[knowledge]]. [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/belief/]
  
A primary problem for [[epistemology]] is exactly what is needed, in addition to true belief, in order for us to have knowledge. In the dialogue Theaetetus, Plato has Socrates examine and reject the proposal that knowledge is justified true belief. More recently, this view has been challenged by the Gettier problem which suggests that justified true belief does not provide a complete picture of knowledge.
+
<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''Belief''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Belief '''''this link'''''].</center>
  
An [[idea]] is, in some forms of [[philosophy]], accepted as the opposite of belief. Often a belief is something accepted, by the believer, as a truth, and therefore resists [[change]]. An idea is a thought that, while still being accepted by the thinker, is not held to such truth as belief, and can be changed, molded, or added onto with improvements or suggestions.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief]
+
==Quote==
 +
The [[human]] [[mind]] always finds itself in the awkward position of knowing less than it can '''believe'''.[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_3#3:5._THE_FATHER.27S_SUPREME_RULE]
  
----
+
[[Category: General Reference]]
 
+
[[Category: Philosophy]]
The [[human]] [[mind]] always finds itself in the awkward position of knowing less than it can '''believe'''.[http://mercy.urantia.org/cgi-bin/webglimpse/mfs/usr/local/www/data/papers?link=http://mercy.urantia.org/papers/paper3.html&file=/usr/local/www/data/papers/paper3.html&line=120#mfs]
 

Revision as of 23:53, 25 July 2010

Lighterstill.jpg

Stairs.jpg

Belief is the psychological state in which an individual is convinced of the truth of a proposition. Like the related concepts truth, knowledge, and wisdom, there is no precise definition of belief on which scholars agree, but rather numerous theories and continued debate about the nature of belief.

Belief, knowledge and epistemology

Contemporary analytic philosophers of mind generally use the term "belief" to refer to the attitude we have, roughly, whenever we take something to be the case or regard it as true. To believe something, in this sense, needn't involve actively reflecting on it: Of the vast number of things ordinary adults believe, only a few can be at the fore of the mind at any single time. Nor does the term "belief", in standard philosophical usage, imply any uncertainty or any extended reflection about the matter in question (as it sometimes does in ordinary English usage). Many of the things we believe, in the relevant sense, are quite mundane: that we have heads, that it's the 21st century, that a coffee mug is on the desk. Forming beliefs is thus one of the most basic and important features of the mind, and the concept of belief plays a crucial role in both philosophy of mind and epistemology. The "mind-body problem", for example, so central to philosophy of mind, is in part the question of whether and how a purely physical organism can have beliefs. Much of epistemology revolves around questions about when and how our beliefs are justified or qualify as knowledge. [1]

For lessons on the topic of Belief, follow this link.

Quote

The human mind always finds itself in the awkward position of knowing less than it can believe.[2]