Overbevisningen

Overbevisningen is a noun used in Norwegian and Danish to denote a person's strong belief or conviction. It is formed from over- meaning "thoroughly" or "excessively" and bevisning, "evidence" or "proof," and is commonly translated as "conviction" or "strong belief." The term refers to an internal stance rather than external proof; it is distinct from bevisning, which denotes evidence in support of a claim, and from the verb overbevise ("to persuade").

In everyday language, one might say "Det er min overbevisning at ..." meaning "It is my conviction that ...". The concept is not a formal epistemological category, but it is often discussed in contexts where justified belief and personal stance interact, such as philosophy, politics, religion, and public discourse.

From a cognitive perspective, overbevisningen can reflect how individuals interpret information and resist counterevidence. It can correspond to high confidence in a proposition even when available bevisning is inconclusive or ambiguous. Critics caution that strong overbevisning may hinder open inquiry, while proponents argue that firm beliefs can guide action and moral judgment.

Linguistic note: in Swedish, the closest equivalent is övertygelse; in Danish and Norwegian the term is overbevisning.

See also: belief, conviction, bevisning, övertygelse (Swedish).