Is a negative belief a belief?
If I believe that I dont have cancer, that is a negative belief but still a belief for example.
Yes.
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No.
Side Score: 19
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Yes, you can have both positive and negative beliefs. Negative beliefs tend to be rarer, though, as people tend to hold a positive belief that precludes the possibility of the negative belief, rather than just holding the negative belief in isolation. Example: 'We never landed on the moon' would be a negative belief, but it is rarely presented as people tend to instead state the positive belief that 'The moon landing was faked.' Side: Yes.
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Absolutely. If someone has the positive belief that we should invade Russia then someone can absolutely have the negative belief that we should not invade Russia. This is different from a LACK of belief. If someone believes in unicorns and another person doesn't have that belief, their unbelief isn't another belief statement. Just as abstinence is not a sex position and an empty plate isn't a meal. Side: Yes.
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No a nonexistent belief is not a belief. How does that even make sense? Is not-soccer a sport? Is not-driving a mode of transportation? Is abstinence a sex position? Is an empty plate a meal? NO. Get this through your skulls you religious morons. Stop over generalizing and misrepresenting SET definitions to stick us in the same wachjob boat as you. Atheism is not a belief. Atheism is not a religion. Get the fuck over it. Side: No.
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There is agnostic atheism... But atheism at its bare meaning is: a- lacking, non, no. Theism (from the Greek root theos)-the belief in a higher being. Literally: a-theism: lacking the belief in god/non belief in god. Atheists after this can be gnostic or agnostic, 99% being agnostic because no atheist is gonna make the unprovable claim that god doesn't exist. I do not believe that no god exists. I don't know if one does or not but I don't believe one does exist. I'm unconvinced of it. I lack the acceptance of that notion. Get it? Let this be the end of this stupid question. Side: No.
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The terminology in this debate is quite misleading, the idea that a 'negative belief' can exist relies on the concept that all beliefs lie on the linear and thus need to have a direction applied. I'm not saying I'm an expert on this (But I am! In my PhD on Religiosity and Social Studies I specifically wrote a joint paper on this) and I would like to seperate the term 'negative belief' a single noun from the phrase 'negative belief' in which the adjective 'negative' has been applied to the word 'belief' to imply pessimism. Thus, the term 'belief' refers to an entire range of values and faiths and to imply that all these diverse beliefs lie on a linear configuration dramatically simplifies the level of pluralism between these beliefs. A preferred graphical representation to the linear would be to apply the term 'belief' to a two dimensional plain, in which beliefs can vary in direction but the idea of negativity cannot exist, because the negative area will vary according to each belief. Thus, in reference to the original question, a negative belief cannot be a belief because negative beliefs are non-existent due to all negative beliefs being beliefs in their own right. Side: No.
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You fail to provide an argument and merely state an opinion irrelevant to the debate, I cannot see how to dispute this because you have not provided any logic to dispute, you have merely injected a baseless opinion to the debate of which only serves to taint the better arguments being presented. Side: No.
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But you are applying a context, your example is based on the idea that an occurrence of Armageddon is a negative event and that believing it will happen is a negative. If one looked at your example through the viewpoint of a Christian fundamentalist, of whom is waiting the second coming of Christ to occur with an Armageddon, then believing Armageddon will happen would be a 'positive' belief whereas the belief of Armageddon not occurring would be construed as negative, therefore the concept of negativity with a belief can only be applied through taking a stance on the subject. Since there is no standard on what is 'negative' or not the idea of negative beliefs simply cannot exist. Side: No.
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I'm not so sure I would consider any statement which begins with the phrase "I believe" to be a negative belief. "I believe that I don't have cancer" sounds like a positive statement to me. Change the wording to "I don't believe I have cancer" and the meaning changes just a bit. Lacking a belief in something, or not being convinced of something is not the same as having a belief or being convinced of its opposite. Consider the following thought experiment:
Suppose there is a large container full of M&M;'s. Suppose there is some debate over whether or not there is an even or odd number of M&M;'s in the container. Suppose a total stranger tells you they believe there is an even number of M&M;'s in the container. If you are not convinced by this stranger that there is an even number of M&M;'s, does this necessarily mean you are convinced the number is odd? Is it not possible to reject both claims until one side presents enough evidence to convince you? Side: No.
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If you are not convinced by this stranger that there is an even number of M&M;'s, does this necessarily mean you are convinced the number is odd? Is it not possible to reject both claims until one side presents enough evidence to convince you? A vali contention and I like how you illustrated that. Side: No.
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