Believing
Believing is the mental act of accepting that a proposition is true, or of having confidence in something as real, even when proof is incomplete or unavailable. In everyday use, belief can range from provisional opinions to firmly held commitments. In philosophy, belief is distinguished from knowledge, which requires justification and typically truth.
The term believe derives from Old English gelyfan, meaning to hold as true or to have faith;
Beliefs occur across domains: empirical beliefs about the world, religious or moral beliefs, and speculative or
Belief formation relies on perception, memory, inference, and social learning; cognitive biases like confirmation bias shape
Beliefs influence decisions, actions, and identity; religious, political, and cultural communities often organize around shared beliefs;