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  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!

    belief is used for taking as true regardless of evidence

    "Belief is used" for taking as true regardless of evidence. Yes.

    "Belief is" taking as true regardless of evidence. No.
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!

    Please look on Wikipedia or definitions of belief, before expressing your belief about what you feel belief means.


    merriam-webster:
    - conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence. belief in the validity of scientific statements

    - a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing. her belief in God. a belief in democracy. I bought the table in the belief that it was an antique. contrary to popular belief (Notice it says "trust or confidence", but doesn't say "without evidence or proof")


    oxforddictionaries:
    - Trust, faith, or confidence in (someone or something). ‘a belief in democratic politics’

    - An acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof. ‘his belief in extraterrestrial life’ (Notice it says "especially", not "exclusively".)


    dictionary.cambridge:
    - the feeling of being certain that something exists or is true: philosophical beliefs


    collinsdictionary:
    - If it is your belief that something is the case, it is your strong opinion that it is the case. Scientific models are human interpretations of empirical evidence. Peer review is a process by which other experts examine findings and are either convinced that it is true, or they are not convinced. There will be disagreement and the scientific community is often wrong. Thus, the current scientific model is the "strong opinion" of the majority of the scientific community based on the available evidence. Scientific "facts" are only facts until better facts come along.


    wikipedia:
    Belief is the state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case with or without there being empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty. (Notice it says "with or without", not "without")


    Conclusion. Science doesn't replace belief. It is simply a framework for quality control.
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!
    @uncool
    First of all, science doesn't "contrast" belief. Science is quality control. That's all. Belief =/= religion. Belief =/= faith. Belief =/= dogma. Belief == belief. If you believe a scientific model is correct, then you have a belief. And chances are, you'll be proven wrong in the future as more evidence is discovered. If you accept the fact that you don't actually know anything and you can always be proven wrong given more evidence, then your current mental model of the universe is a "belief".
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!

    (Please take a look at the dictionary and or Wikipedia on belief)
    Take a look yourself. Belief isn't always "regardless of the facts". It can also be "in light of limited facts". Such as when you need to make a decision given imperfect information, but your tiny brain can't calculate all possible variables and crunch the probabilities, so you act under the belief that something is probably true even though you're acknowledging it may not be.
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!

    No, I should have quoted this:
    Belief is also accepting as true regardless of the facts.
    I was saying you were conflating "belief" with other ideas like denial and confirmation bias.
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!

    Whilst 'belief' is a marker for such a huge range of meanings it makes sense to use alternatives for "accepting as true regardless"

    Wouldn't that just be "denial" or "confirmation bias"? Rather than belief, I mean.
  • Belief (not just religious belief) ought to be abolished!
    In the face of imperfect information and limited processing power, the feeble human mind must often rely on a mixture of logic, experience, and intuition to arrive at a practical solution. The intuition component can be described as "belief", can't it?