What is the Difference Between "Believing" and "Knowing"?
Wondering if believing and knowing are the same? Even though necessary, belief is not enough to constitute knowledge. We all make mistakes from time to time in our beliefs; thus, while some of them are true, others are not. Although knowledge and belief are two different concepts, they might be misunderstood in everyday use.
For instance, some people might know about something but not believe and vice versa. For instance, talking about belief, around 85% of the world's population believe in religion. Nonetheless, several distinctions guarantee the phrases are distinct from one another. And to make you understand better here are some.
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Accept vs Aware
Even though believing and knowing sounds very familiar, both have their meaning. Believing is what you accept and knowing is what you're aware of. No doubt, these words are often confused. Believing is to hold something as true. Whereas, knowing is to signal your readiness for something. As per the source, around 10 to 15% of people are aware of self-awareness.
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Faith vs Experience
When talking about faith and experience both speak of perceptions of various things. Talking about the differences, believing is having faith and a heartfelt belief in someone or something. It may not always be supported by evidence. On the other hand, knowing refers to anything we take to be true. It always comes with experience. As reported, around 7% of the world is not religious.
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True vs Curiosity
When talking about belief and knowledge, people often get confused. But remember both have their concepts. Believing is what you feel is true or feels like a personal expectation and is often shared by others. Whereas, knowing comes with a lot of curiosity such as attaching meaning to information.
Emotional vs Factual
Another difference between believing and knowing is emotional and factual. Beliefs have an impact on how people perceive, interpret, and express their emotions, for example, by determining the relative importance of various emotions. On the other hand, knowing is all about facts as it is the result of the accumulation of facts, strategies, and abilities. As per the source, around 90% of people are emotional.
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Trust vs Understanding
Believing is all about trust. It is a more temporary idea that calls for someone to have faith in them for a set period. Accepting that something or someone is true is another definition of the word "believe." Whereas knowing comes with understanding. This means it refers to understanding or being aware of the intended significance or root of something.
Not Reasonable vs. Updated
Although believing is debatable whether views may be morally bad, they can undoubtedly be incorrect and unreasonable at some point. It makes you rely more on preconceived notions than continue an argument to its logical conclusion. However, knowing is always updated. For instance, with the continuous changes in the world, you can always keep your knowledge updated and secured. Therefore, knowing is always reasonable.
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Unknown vs Commitment
Believing is unknown, whereas knowing is commitment. This means knowing is often superior to believing as you can't assure someone without having a proper knowledge about something. For instance, in a relationship, it is very important to know before committing.
Devotion vs Acknowledgement
Devotion and acknowledgment are other two terms that differentiate believing from knowing. Devotion is a strong feeling of love while acknowledgement is a feeling of strong support. Believing refers to knowing something to be true or having confidence and trust in something. On the other hand, knowing implies that you are knowledgeable, cunning, perceptive, or purposeful. As reported, around 58% of people feel comfortable sharing their faith as devotees.
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Fiction vs Fact
Believing is fiction i.e. it is always based on some sort of imagination. On the other hand, knowing is a fact. This means it is the informational items that can or have been confirmed to be true. Although fiction uses made-up characters, settings, and happenings, facts describe specifics about actual people, incidents, and situations.
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Self Explanatory vs. Evidence
Another difference between believing and knowing is self-explanatory and evidence. This means while you cannot verify belief with proper evidence, you can always verify what you know with some sort of evidence. For instance, knowledge comes from textbooks, and news reportings, while beliefs can be conveyed in short stories, novels, etc.
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Doubt vs Surety
Truth is a requirement for knowledge, hence believing cannot qualify as knowing if it is untrue. As a result, there cannot be knowledge if there is no such thing as truth. Therefore another difference is that believing comes with doubt whereas knowing comes with surety. For instance, nobody who has endured severe burns should ever say, "I think fire is hot." He or she is certain beyond a shadow of a doubt. Such confidence has nothing to do with trying to believe and not have any doubts. As per research, over 85% of people suffer from self-doubt.
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Idealism vs Realism
Most frequently, believing is often based on what other individuals say, believe, assert, or have learned from others. On the other hand, knowing comes from our own firsthand, individual experiences with life. In other words, believing depends on idealism whereas knowing relies on realism. It was found that around 62.1% lean towards realism.
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No Evidence vs. Reasoning
Believing is a truth that could be taken as true without necessarily requiring any kind of supporting proof. Even when a belief hasn't been supported by evidence, many individuals still regard it as realistic. Whether that is going to be true or false depends. However, knowledge comes with reasoning. Reason can help us think carefully about the effects of our actions if those effects are significant to us. It can help us sort through the data and draw logical conclusions. Therefore, knowing enables us to imagine how the world might be if everyone adopted the same behavior.
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Borrowed vs Discovery
Believing is always borrowed. This means it can be exaggerated or influenced by other people's opinions. On the other hand, knowing is about discovery. This means it will contain elements of truth.
Religious vs Science
Wondering what connects religion with believing? Religion makes the supposition that people can have access to a greater level of knowledge that is not accessible by either observation or reason. Whereas, knowing brings science. The natural or physical world—that which can be observed and measured—is what science primarily concerns itself with. As reported, around 7 in 10 people believe in science.
Intuition vs Experience
Believing is intuition whereas knowing is experience. Since it is created to account for precisely those types of knowledge that other sources do not give, intuition is seen as an original, independent source of knowledge. On the other hand, knowing is all about data and abilities obtained through training or experience. Related to knowing, experience is defined as the skill or information gained via a period of experience with something. As reported, around 70% of people rely on their intuition.
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