Are beliefs different than truth?

I was just thinking that some people assume their beliefs to be truth when maybe beliefs and truth are two separate concepts.

It seems like beliefs come from our pride?

What do you guys think?

I think you are correct..beliefs are not truths....There are very few truths, maybe even just 1....

If I believed that I could blast a hole in my cranium and i'd just get better, I'd still kill myself if I tried.

That's the difference.

Unfortunately, we have gaps in our knowledge and experience which we have to fill with something or we'd die of all sorts of stupidity (perhaps we do).

So belief fills the gap and makes us that much more "rugged".

Isnt a belief just an individual's truth? What is true to me may not necessarily be true to you, and what I believe is true to me.

I think its all based on perspective.

agreed...maybe just one truth...biblical, i suppose...but not the story given by the white catholic devils...
the catholic devils need to be watched because they will force their devil truth on the world even more than it already is. i'm backed by scripture....the catholics are not...

my 5 year old son believes in santa clause, sadly for me i know this is not true. but then on the bright side i dont feel like santa doesnt care about me when i get nothing for christmas.

I believe them to be connected. Looking at the etymology of the word gives us some insight:

late 12c., replaced O.E. geleafa "belief, faith," from W.Gmc. *ga-laubon (cf. O.S. gilobo, M.Du. gelove, O.H.G. giloubo, Ger. glaube), from *galaub- "dear, esteemed." The prefix was altered on analogy of the verb believe. The distinction of the final consonant from that of believe developed 15c. Belief used to mean "trust in God," while faith meant "loyalty to a person based on promise or duty" (a sense preserved in keep one's faith, in good (or bad) faith and in common usage of faithful, faithless, which contain no notion of divinity). But faith, as cognate of L. fides, took on the religious sense beginning in 14c. translations, and belief had by 16c. become limited to "mental acceptance of something as true," from the religious use in the sense of "things held to be true as a matter of religious doctrine" (early 13c.).

I think the most general application here is, mental acceptance of something as true. So, in the context of what one believes, the answer is always subjective and would seemingly hold little water or relevancy. Doesn't mean someone could actually believe in something that is true ... for example, I typed these words using a keyboard. In that sense, my belief was true. However, I also believe that all girls find me attractive (not true, although I believe it to be true).

However, we could get all metaphysical.

Depends on what you believe I guess.

Science practices believing in the most accurate theory at the time, that can be changed when new evidence comes to light.

So, if you follow something like science than your beliefs are similar to truth, but the most important thing is your beliefs should continuously change with new ideas or evidence.

I, believe the truth.

Pred...

My belief comes from logic.

It is MY Truth - - without proof.

I would never expect anyone else to accept it as truth.

Explanation: S&F!

Beliefs evolve...truths don't and are either picked up or disgarded!

Personal Disclosure: Sweet simple threads. OL loves them. Thats my belief and it just so happens to ALSO be true.

P.S. Not all beliefs are true BUT all truths are true regardless.

There is such a thing as "ultimate truth." The Buddhists believe that ultimate truth can only be found from meditation. There is also relative truth and absolute truth.

Some people would say that there is no true reality, only perceptions and opinions. Others would argue that there must be some absolute reality or truth.

It's an interesting question to ponder...and I'd totally recommend looking it up. Philosophy and religion both have a lot to say about it.

I'm fond of the saying, "The Truth does not require your belief to exist." And yet, that too, is just a belief based on a particular worldview. However, that would be truth (with a small t.) Those beliefs and assumptions about our lives and reality which to us is true but maybe not so much for others. So to answer the question, they are different and not so different.

The workings of ourselves and our universe and the repeating sacred geometric patterns found throughout nature and history as well as the esoteric "As Above, So Below" show us that there is Truth (with a capital T) and yet from our human perspective, we only see part of that Truth (like the 3 blind men describing the elephant) and call it truth and form our beliefs around it.

I imagine it as a sphere with Truth being at the center. As perceivers of that Truth we would be on the outside of the sphere looking down our own narrowing cone of perception. When seen this way, everybody's truths (beliefs/perspectives) are valid to a certain degree as they are simply coming from different points of perception/perspective of the same ultimate Truth along the outside of the sphere.

To answer the question again, clearly and briefly, yes...and no.

reply to post by Ralphy


Beliefs are strongly tied to hopes, connected to a more sacred part of ourselves. Truth is strongly tied to pride, as we fear those that could disprove us.

reply to post by Ralphy


Beliefs are subjective, and affected by human perception.

Truths depend on no human perception. They are true whether the human mind perceives them or not.

My contrarian assessment of your question is "No, beliefs and truth are not different." semantics aside.
Fact (corporeal reality) is different than either belief or truth - a "true fact" is a redundant expression as all facts are by definition true. Truth, however is highly subjective - the pursuit of it many times leads to the confusion of belief with fact especially among "true believers". In the real (factual) world, it is the subjective nature of truth that makes it indistinguishable from belief.

ganjoa

Originally posted by Ralphy
I was just thinking that some people assume their beliefs to be truth when maybe beliefs and truth are two separate concepts.

It seems like beliefs come from our pride?

What do you guys think?

If you're reading a philosophy book, then there's no difference. If you're reading a physics book, then yes, there's a difference. The English language sucks in this regard. Promise (for instance) is either a verb or a noun or an adjective - depending on how it sits in the sentence. "I promise that the word, promise, holds great promise for use in this, our beloved native tongue." It's no wonder they make you order lunch at Burger King off the board menu.

You can't keep from being t-boned by a semantics nerd if you forget to clearly define your words and how they are to be used in your pet assertions. Some people live to show other people up by way of worthless semantics debate - even when the word's intended use in the original application is obvious. Everyone has a way of finding their little boner in life.

Truth and belief are similar and neither is absolute. Truth as I know it is simply the expression of something one believes, while belief is what is thought of as truth.

What should really be debated is 'can belief be considered fact?' Or are they inherently different?

They are entirely different. A belief in something...like the "tooth fairy" could be flawed. A truth...as it implies...cannot be anything other than it is: truth.

A belief in my opinion is not truth. If something needs to be believed then it has not been realized, not been seen to be true.
To believe in god, means to me, that god is not actually known, experienced.
Experience is truth. All else is belief, a story, that may or not be true. Even if it is told as truth, it is inaccurate, or constantly changing.
Think about a group of people going to watch the same movie, each one will see a different film, or at least have a different experience because they each go with different character traits. Some like the film, some don't.
To believe is to not know but think you do.
Truth is very hard to see when so much is believed.
Stop thinking that we know ( believing ), and realize that we do not know and that is the truth.

The truth is that you believe something is truth (Unless you don't), which makes belief a part of truth since the truth is that you believe in it.

Even a lack of belief is truth that you only partially believe in something.