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jaunthieOne of the bigger gripes I have against the fundamentalists and their no-give-all-take attitude (and it's a long and hairy list, including the blowing up of buildings and the crusades against evolutionary theory and public education) is the side effect of making words like "faith" and "belief" equivalent to "unquestioning, unreasoning acceptance" in certain circles - and asserting (deliberately or accidentally) their anathema with words like "evidence" and "fact".
Can faith and fact live in peaceful coexistence? Can belief and evidence harmonize? Let's see what the good folks at Merriam Webster have to say on the matter (my emphasis added in underlined text):
Main Entry: faith
Pronunciation: 'fAth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths /'fAths, sometimes 'fA[th]z/
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Old French feid, foi, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust -- more at BIDE
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY
b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
Main Entry: fact
Pronunciation: 'fakt
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin factum, from neuter of factus, past participle of facere
1 : a thing done: as a obsolete : FEAT
b : CRIME
c archaic : ACTION
2 archaic : PERFORMANCE, DOING
3 : the quality of being actual : ACTUALITY (a question of fact hinges on evidence)
4 a : something that has actual existence (space exploration is now a fact)
b : an actual occurrence (prove the fact of damage)
5 : a piece of information presented as having objective reality in fact : in truth
Main Entry: belief
Pronunciation: b&-'lEf
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English beleave, probably alteration of Old English gelEafa, from ge-, associative prefix + lEafa; akin to Old English lyfan
1 : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
2 : something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
3 : conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence
Main Entry: evidence
Pronunciation: 'e-v&-d&n(t)s, -v&-"den(t)s
Function: noun
1 a : an outward sign : INDICATION
b : something that furnishes proof : TESTIMONY; specifically : something legally submitted to a tribunal to ascertain the truth of a matter
2 : one who bears witness; especially : one who voluntarily confesses a crime and testifies for the prosecution against his accomplices
So let's see. On the face of it, faith and fact can play pretty well together - or can be used to abuse each other and everything else, depending on which definition you choose. Firm belief in something for which there is no proof does not preclude the quality of that something being actual. However, something that is believed especially with strong conviction, if that something is contradicted by something that has actual existence - like say those who deny that the existence of millons-of-years-old fossils precludes the creation of the world 10,000 years ago - well, these definitely don't play well. Similarly, belief and evidence can play very well together indeed - just check out the third definition of belief, "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence".
Interestingly, "faith" and "belief" have quite an important distinction in certain definitions: specifically faith 2(b)(1) "firm belief in something for which there is no proof" and belief 3, "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence". Which is not to say that either are contradictory, but the importance of evidence appears to be a little more intrinsic to the definition of belief, whereas belief despite the lack of evidence is intrinsic to faith. However, neither the definition of belief nor the definition of faith say anything about persisting in the face of direct and overwhelming evidence to the contrary of said faith or belief.
So why do fundamentalists have such a bone to pick with fossils? Probably something inherent in the definition of fundamentalism itself:
Main Entry: fundamentalism
Pronunciation: -t&l-"i-z&m
Function: noun
1 a often capitalized : a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching
b : the beliefs of this movement
c : adherence to such beliefs
2 : a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles
- fun·da·men·tal·ist /-t&l-ist/ noun
- fundamentalist or fun·da·men·tal·is·tic /-"men-t&l-'is-tik/ adjective
Fundamentalism 2 doesn't necessarily run into problems, but 1a definitely has issues from the literally interpreted Bible, which as we all know from Bill Hicks, doesn't exactly mention dinosaurs.
Can faith and fact live in peaceful coexistence? Can belief and evidence harmonize? Let's see what the good folks at Merriam Webster have to say on the matter (my emphasis added in underlined text):
Main Entry: faith
Pronunciation: 'fAth
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural faiths /'fAths, sometimes 'fA[th]z/
Etymology: Middle English feith, from Old French feid, foi, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust -- more at BIDE
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY
b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
Main Entry: fact
Pronunciation: 'fakt
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin factum, from neuter of factus, past participle of facere
1 : a thing done: as a obsolete : FEAT
b : CRIME
c archaic : ACTION
2 archaic : PERFORMANCE, DOING
3 : the quality of being actual : ACTUALITY (a question of fact hinges on evidence)
4 a : something that has actual existence (space exploration is now a fact)
b : an actual occurrence (prove the fact of damage)
5 : a piece of information presented as having objective reality in fact : in truth
Main Entry: belief
Pronunciation: b&-'lEf
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English beleave, probably alteration of Old English gelEafa, from ge-, associative prefix + lEafa; akin to Old English lyfan
1 : a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing
2 : something believed; especially : a tenet or body of tenets held by a group
3 : conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence
Main Entry: evidence
Pronunciation: 'e-v&-d&n(t)s, -v&-"den(t)s
Function: noun
1 a : an outward sign : INDICATION
b : something that furnishes proof : TESTIMONY; specifically : something legally submitted to a tribunal to ascertain the truth of a matter
2 : one who bears witness; especially : one who voluntarily confesses a crime and testifies for the prosecution against his accomplices
So let's see. On the face of it, faith and fact can play pretty well together - or can be used to abuse each other and everything else, depending on which definition you choose. Firm belief in something for which there is no proof does not preclude the quality of that something being actual. However, something that is believed especially with strong conviction, if that something is contradicted by something that has actual existence - like say those who deny that the existence of millons-of-years-old fossils precludes the creation of the world 10,000 years ago - well, these definitely don't play well. Similarly, belief and evidence can play very well together indeed - just check out the third definition of belief, "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence".
Interestingly, "faith" and "belief" have quite an important distinction in certain definitions: specifically faith 2(b)(1) "firm belief in something for which there is no proof" and belief 3, "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence". Which is not to say that either are contradictory, but the importance of evidence appears to be a little more intrinsic to the definition of belief, whereas belief despite the lack of evidence is intrinsic to faith. However, neither the definition of belief nor the definition of faith say anything about persisting in the face of direct and overwhelming evidence to the contrary of said faith or belief.
So why do fundamentalists have such a bone to pick with fossils? Probably something inherent in the definition of fundamentalism itself:
Main Entry: fundamentalism
Pronunciation: -t&l-"i-z&m
Function: noun
1 a often capitalized : a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching
b : the beliefs of this movement
c : adherence to such beliefs
2 : a movement or attitude stressing strict and literal adherence to a set of basic principles
- fun·da·men·tal·ist /-t&l-ist/ noun
- fundamentalist or fun·da·men·tal·is·tic /-"men-t&l-'is-tik/ adjective
Fundamentalism 2 doesn't necessarily run into problems, but 1a definitely has issues from the literally interpreted Bible, which as we all know from Bill Hicks, doesn't exactly mention dinosaurs.
