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The Philosophy of Belief

Belief is the acceptance of something as true, or thinking that something could be true. There are two distinct notions of belief: belief in x, and belief that x. Regarding belief in, we can believe in the existence, truth, or value of something, or believe in something that we think ought to be. The notion of believe in is usually used to designate believe in good things. For example, we believe in Jones's cheery attitude but not his selfishness. Philosophers are principally concerned with belief that, and describe this as doxastic belief. This kind of belief is one of several types propositional attitudes; others are thinking that x, wishing that x, and feeling that x.

There are limits to propositions in which we can believe. It is questionable as to whether an individual can believe contradictions, such as "that p exists and also that p does not exist at the same time." It is also uncertain whether a person can believe something that she knows is false or thinks is improbable. To study belief is to study its connections with long-term dispositions, actions, and inner experiences, not just the short-term idea that a person claims to accept. Other issues with belief concern how far belief is voluntary, and whether a person has a moral duty to believe certain things.

William James argued that acceptance of truth sometimes requires an act of the will which goes beyond what the facts present and is based on feelings. Belief in divine revelation is an example of this type. Ortega y Gasset thought of belief as the power behind ideas insofar as ideas need to be founded in pre-rational belief. Together, ideas and belief make vital reason. In contrast to this approach, William Crawford argues that one must not accept something unless all evidence supports it.

The theological use of the term belief is the closest to its common usage. A theologian distinguishes between two different meanings. The first is more like an opinion, which is belief in the probably of something. The second is the belief in the certainty of something. Catholic theologians distinguish between explicit and implicit belief. When someone believes a truth that she knows, the belief is explicit; when she believes the consequences of a truth which she cannot know, the belief becomes implicit.

 
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