The Difference Between Believing and Knowing

"I don't believe-I know".



-Carl Jung, founder of a neopsychoanalytic school, on the question of belief in 'god'.. Believe: 1 a : to have a firm religious faith b : to accept as true 2 : to have a firm conviction 3 : to hold an opinion

Know : 1 a (1) : to perceive directly : have direct cognition of  (2) : to have understanding of  (3) : to recognize the nature of : DISCERN b (1) : to recognize as being the same as something previously known (2) to be acquainted or familiar with (3) : to have experience of 2 a : to be aware of the truth or factuality b : to have a practical understanding

Believing is holding an opinion. Knowing is to have direct experience, to understand, and to have a practical understanding of some concept. To further delineate the two different terms, it is important to realize that while one can "make- believe", one cannot "make-know".

Main Entry: [1]make-be·lieve


 * "pretending to believe"

One can pretend to believe, because in order to believe, one does not need factual knowledge. When you were a child, and "made believe" that you were a doctor, you didn't actually know how to be a doctor.

When one maintains in an argument: "I don't believe, I know", without actually possessing direct cognition of, or evidence for, their proposition, they are in fact doing one of two things:

1. Using a persuasive definition (i.e. one that is purposely misleading)

2. Lying





Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary









The next section is ironically titled "Knowing Through Faith "