@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@-VirusLexicon
+[VirianLexicon]:[belief]
-Belief can only occur where acceptance is not compelled, for if [acceptance] is compelled, then belief is not required
to accept that thing. Belief is thus
the acceptance of some thing
as being provisionally
true where:
-
-- contradictory evidence exists which throws doubt
upon or compels the rejection of the thing being accepted as truth.
-- insufficient evidence exists to compel
or suggest acceptance
of the thing as truth
.
+!!!
Belief
+----
+"Assent
to a proposition or affirmation, or
the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion
as real or
true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance
upon word
or testimony; partial
or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief
of a witness;
the belief of our senses
." --Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
+From this it follows that [belief|belief] can only occur where acceptance is not compelled, for if [acceptance] is compelled, then [belief|belief] is not required to accept that thing. [Belief|belief] is thus the acceptance of some thing as being provisionally true where:
+* contradictory evidence exists which throws doubt upon or compels the rejection of the thing being accepted as truth.
+* insufficient evidence exists to compel or suggest acceptance of the thing as truth.
----
-
-
-
-
+Alternatively an [agent] can be attributed a [belief|
belief] in X when it acts[1] as if X is true. This sense of the word seems to be more common (in North America) and in the philosophical literature I've read. --DavidLucifer
[1] Assuming that the act is sincere, that is, without deception or sarcasm.
+----
+See also: [acceptance], [faith], [trust], [truth], [truth value|truthvalue], [Discussion-Lexicon-Belief-2003-09-03]
+----
