Re: Belief as Cop Out
Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2021 3:20 pm
I like the idea of recognising a range of degrees of confidence. I think it's only smart to distinguish different degrees. To me "know" represents the highest confidence, and "believe" a confidence that is lower, but not enough lower to make any practical difference. One is about as prepared to act on a belief as one is upon knowledge, I think. Still I think it's worth distinguishing believing from knowing because it indicates a possibility that one might change one's mind in future. If I say I know something, in contrast, I'm declaring that I can't imagine anything changing my view.
I don't think I'm just making up those distinctions as my personal dialect. I think that's what people usually mean by belief versus knowledge in practical dealings in the real world. Juries believe witnesses or do not believe them. Jury members aren't supposed to decide that they know a witness is telling the truth. It's important to the whole system of trial by jury that juries don't have to be certain beyond all possible doubt but only beyond reasonable doubt. The practical consequences of the trial are usually just as severe if the jury believes as they would be if the jury somehow actually knew, but it's still important to recognise that juries are not, and are not supposed to be, infallible.
So I can't vote in favour of banning "belief" as a term or a concept. I think it makes a useful distinction about real situations that often come up in practice.
I agree, though, that people might use "I believe" simply as a declaration that they have closed their mind on a topic. Worse, people might even say, "I believe" smugly, either because they reckon that closing one's mind is admirable or because they're delighted to have this neat formula for avoiding difficult thoughts. That's a cop out, all right.
I don't think I'm just making up those distinctions as my personal dialect. I think that's what people usually mean by belief versus knowledge in practical dealings in the real world. Juries believe witnesses or do not believe them. Jury members aren't supposed to decide that they know a witness is telling the truth. It's important to the whole system of trial by jury that juries don't have to be certain beyond all possible doubt but only beyond reasonable doubt. The practical consequences of the trial are usually just as severe if the jury believes as they would be if the jury somehow actually knew, but it's still important to recognise that juries are not, and are not supposed to be, infallible.
So I can't vote in favour of banning "belief" as a term or a concept. I think it makes a useful distinction about real situations that often come up in practice.
I agree, though, that people might use "I believe" simply as a declaration that they have closed their mind on a topic. Worse, people might even say, "I believe" smugly, either because they reckon that closing one's mind is admirable or because they're delighted to have this neat formula for avoiding difficult thoughts. That's a cop out, all right.