On Mon, 25 Apr 2011 09:29:24 -0700, Darren New wrote:

> On 4/25/2011 9:12, Jim Henderson wrote:
>> It isn't a belief, though - nor is it a matter of opinion.  It's a hard
>> fact.
> 
> It's a fact and a belief about a fact.
> 
> Or, as the philosophers would say, it is a true justified belief.

Justified belief seems to me to come into play when dealing with 
scientific principles where you may not have enough evidence to support 
an absolute "yes/no" observation.  For example, "I believe the facts 
support the scientific principle of evolution."  I haven't studied it 
myself, but those who have studied it have explained it well enough that 
I trust their findings.

> I don't stop believing I'm sitting in a chair just because I find out
> I'm right. I don't stop believing that song was by Bach just because you
> show me the CD and it has Bach written on it.

Well, no, you wouldn't stop believing the song was by Bach just because I 
show you the CD and it says "Bach", because the CD could be incorrect 
(I've seen some like that myself).  But you have a justified belief that 
it is because it's a pressed CD and errors are extremely rare.

But if you listen to it and say "Ah, that's Partida #1 by J. S. Bach", 
you don't have to believe it is, because you know it is.

> Would you say "I don't believe I'm using the keyboard to type"?

No, I'd say either I was or I wasn't using a keyboard to type.  Belief 
doesn't play into it, because either I am or I am not - ie, it's an 
absolute.

Jim

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