Sunday, February 19, 2012

Half-beliefs

“To half believe something is to be not quite sure that it is true, but also not sure that it is not true.” (178) What are some examples of this? How can one truly believe and not believe in something? Would that go against the Law of Non-Contradiction? No, maybe not that. I usually think of that Law as either something is or is not, and cannot be and not be at the same time. But to believe and not to believe still seems very contradictory. I've been having a very difficult time trying to come up with some kind of example that would work for such a contradictory claim. One thing that I thought of was the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Corny example, I know. I read the book and watched a movie about it. I know that it is purely fiction, and it would be completely nonsensical to believe in it. I know that it is not real. And yet, when I learned that Sleepy Hollow was based on a real town in New York, I thought to myself that I would never in a million years go there. Which is really ridiculous. I have no reason to avoid that town, but if I know that if I was ever near it, I would avoid it like the plague. So, in that sense, I suppose I can somewhat understand what half-beliefs are. However, to maintain any half-beliefs at all seems to be complete nonsense. It doesn't seem to me that we can hold any rational half-beliefs. If we can or if we do, I can't think of any. Can anyone else think of an example? 
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2 comments:

  1. Avery S. F.February 25, 2012 at 11:06 AM

    It seems possible that someone could hold a half-belief which is rational if their conscious choice of belief is not rational. For example, if someone believed that evolution was a myth, they might still hold a half-belief that it was not, due to the arguments of others who accepted the reality of evolution.

    Regarding rational half-beliefs which do not depend on irrationality of other beliefs to exist, I cannot think of any. However, I can think of some which are not totally irrational. Belief in a deity, for example, is often neither rational nor irrational. Many deities have undisprovability built into their very definitions, in the sense that they are said to be unknowable. As such, their existence is purely a matter of conjecture. If a person was not certain whether or not they believed in such a deity, the might be considered to hold a non-irrational half-belief.
    P.S. I also posted this on my blog if you'd rather read it there.

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  2. Nicole B.March 18, 2012 at 4:18 PM

    I responded to your post.

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