Beliefssuch

Beliefssuch is a coined term used mainly in informal online discourse to refer to a class of beliefs described with demonstrative qualifiers such as “such.” It functions as a shorthand for a broader category of beliefs rather than a single proposition, and it is not part of formal philosophy or linguistics lexicons. The word blends “beliefs” and “such” into a single unit to signal that a statement targets a representative set of beliefs rather than a specific claim.

Origins and usage: The term appears in late 2010s and later internet discussions, particularly in debates about epistemology, bias, and social cognition. It is typically employed to discuss how speakers categorize or generalize about the beliefs held by groups or communities, treating “such beliefs” as a coherent class rather than focusing on individual propositions. As a discourse device, beliefssuch helps frame arguments about patterns in thinking, rather than testing a particular belief on its merits.

In practice, beliefssuch can introduce a generic claim, for example: “Beliefssuch about X often relies on selective evidence.” Its vagueness can clarify that a speaker is making a broad generalization, but it can also obscure specifics or be read as a rhetorical move rather than a precise concept.

See also: belief, epistemology, discourse marker, generic term, rhetorical device.