Belief is a term which is sufficiently definite for most ordinary purposes; but it is used with some variety in meaning, and psychologists do not always agree in the tests they give for distinguishing belief from other states of mind. The word is used to mean the acceptance of a proposition, statement, or fact as true on the ground of evidence, authority, or irresistible mental predisposition; the state of trust in and reliance on a person, thing, or principle; as also for the fact believed, and sometimes specifically for the apostles' creed. Belief is by some distinguished from knowledge, inasmuch as the latter rests on evidence, while belief rests on authority. Belief should, some say, not be used of facts such as are occurring in one's own experience, or principles of which the opposite implies absurdity, such as the axioms of geometry. These we know; and according to this view, the term should be limited to cases where a proposition is accepted without evidence, or where such evidence as is available implies only probability. On the other hand, the psychologists of what is called the intuitive school are accustomed to regard as beliefs the fundamental data on which reasoning rests; and to say that all knowledge rests ultimately on belief. Belief, they say, may admit of all degrees of confidence, from a slight suspicion to full assurance. There are many operations of mind in which it is an ingredient—consciousness, remembrance, perception. Kant defined opinion as a judgment which is insufficiently based, subjectively as well as objectively; belief, as subjectively sufficient but objectively inadequate; knowledge, as both subjectively and objectively sufficient. The strongest beliefs may of course be false; beliefs in ghosts, astrological prognostications, &c., are usually treated as superstitions. Beliefs as such rest on grounds regarded as sufficient by the person believing, who is prepared to act on his belief; but their grounds may have absolutely no validity for any other person. Such beliefs are nevertheless very real. On the other hand there are many propositions accepted traditionally, and spoken of as beliefs, which are not real vital abiding truths for those who nominally accept them; which have no influence on character or mental tone, and on which those who hold them would not be prepared to act. Faith is a word used in very much the same sense as belief, but specially signifies the acceptance of and reliance on the truths of religion.
For this use, see FAITH, GOD, IMMORTALITY, JUSTIFICATION.