I’m not sure what conceptions of ‘belief’ you have in mind in the first part of your reply. Are you claiming tho that Sabine, and other physicists, as shminux claims, don’t have beliefs as would be commonly understood? Even about physics, or the accuracy of the mainstream theories in that field? I admit to being confused as to exactly what point shminux, or Sabine, are trying to make tho.
I would assume that what Sabine means by belief is some combination of certainty and not being based on evidence.
I find it hard to imagine what Sabine or shminux could have in mind if what you write is true. They, apparently, would claim that the some physics theories are accurate. In what sense do those claims not correspond to beliefs, e.g. that the theories actually are accurate?
Maybe you’re on to something about this whole discussion being confusing because the participants, particularly Sabine or shminux, aren’t explicitly discussing degrees of certainty or amounts and strength of evidence. For example, it certainly seems completely reasonable to reply to “Do black holes exist? Are they real?” with something like “They’re predicted by our best theories of physics and we have pretty strong indirect evidence of their existence, in specific places (in space-time), so we’re reasonably certain that they do in fact exist and are real. For one, we’ve generated an image of one that’s relatively nearby and all the methods we used to do so seem, as far as we can tell, to be eminently reasonable based on everything else we know (and believe to be true).”.
It’s not obvious that being complex or a compound makes something less real.
Sure, if by “the Higgs-boson, quarks, black holes, let alone planets, species, individual people” we ‘only meant’ something like a (Vast) group of quantum field excitations (or similar). But, as far as I can tell, we mean very different things by each of those different words or phrases. It seems pretty obvious to me that the ‘reality’ of a species is a very different thing than the reality of an individual, and neither are always clear in every situation. During speciation, it’s not clear when one species has become many – so the ‘reality’ of the species, one or many, seems less real to me, in that specific situation anyways. Similarly, victims of brain trauma are often described as ‘like another person’ – that seems to clearly infringe on the ‘reality’ of personal identity, which seems like a pretty important component of personhood. Generally, the degree to which a concept or category is nebulous seems to match how ‘real’ it is, or seems.
They, apparently, would claim that the some physics theories are accurate. In what sense do those claims not correspond to beliefs, e.g. that the theories actually are accurate?
These claims-to-accuracy are not beliefs in the sense that they are based on evidence and are subject to revision, and are therefore not certain.
It seems pretty obvious to me that the ‘reality’ of a species is a very different thing than the reality of an individual,
There may be some issues about the classification or demarcation of complex entities , but they are not necessarily the same as issues about the existence of entities.
For instance, there was confusion about whether the platypus was a mammal or marsupial, but no dou t that they exist.
These claims-to-accuracy are not beliefs in the sense that they are based on evidence and are subject to revision, and are therefore not certain.
That seems like a really tortured definition/interpretation/understanding of ‘belief’. What’s the motivation for that? To distinguish these “claims-to-accuracy” as different than religious belief? I’m confused why this rhetorical stance is useful or interesting given that even religious belief is based on evidence and subject to revision, and even very few religious believers claim total or complete certainty.
There may be some issues about the classification or demarcation of complex entities , but they are not necessarily the same as issues about the existence of entities.
I agree with respect to classification but not for demarcation – if it’s unclear how to demarcate two entities isn’t it unclear whether two entities exist (versus one or none)?
And generally, because of the seemingly inevitable issues with demarcating individual entities of a given class, it’s less clear that they exist, or the reality of their existence (as entities of that class) seems less obvious, i.e. they are ‘less real’.
I’m suggesting that ‘is real’ and ‘exists’ are not binary values but rather magnitudes. Unicorns seem pretty clearly ‘not real’ and that it is true that they ‘do not exist’ (and never existed). But the magnitude of their reality or non-existence is not perfectly un-real or non-existent, as even something folk tales that mention them is (very) weak evidence that they might be real or might have existed (or might still exist somewhere).
Here are two of my favorite examples of categories of entities that are somewhat unreal or less ‘existential’:
Tectonic plates
The species of dogs, wolves, and coyotes
For tectonic plates, it’s not obvious how many exist, thus the existence of some possible plates is uncertain. Obviously the components of plates exist but, at least for some (possible) plates, it’s not clear that they do exist or are ‘real’ – as tectonic plates.
And dogs, wolves, and coyotes can all interbreed, and produce sexually fertile offspring, and genetic evidence of existing (individual) dogs, wolves, or coyotes indicate that they are all genetically intermixed. Are those species real? Do those species exist? Surely, in general, the individual members of those species exist, but do the species themselves exist? Are those species ‘real’? It seems clear to me that the ‘reality’ of those three species is strictly less than the reality of any members of those species.
I wasn’t trying to attack you, or Sabine or shminux either, so I’m sorry if seemed that way to you.
I think I understand their position pretty well – all of the questions they supposedly face about whether the objects of study are ‘real’ or whether they ‘exist’ are almost certainly frustrating. Obviously all of those objects are real enough, or likely enough to exist, in the sense that a sufficient cumulative weight of evidence exists and is accepted, for it to be almost entirely uncontroversial for professional physics to study them. On one end of professional practice of their field, just studying the relevant mathematics is a perfectly accepted practice in and of itself. On the other end, there’s sufficient observational evidence, especially given the corresponding (accepted) theoretical interpretations, that the study of these objects is by itself relatively mundane and unremarkable.
The annoying real/exists questions are almost certainly interpreted as critical, if not negative, judgements implying that the physicists at whom the questions are addressed are either stupid or naive, or maliciously deceptive, for believing the objects of study as being (sufficiently) real or existing. So I’d expect an almost overwhelming urge for them, the physicists, to want to avoid dealing with such questions or otherwise to be able to themselves imply or aver that such questions are stupid or naive, or even unanswerable (and thus not ‘scientific’, i.e. worthy of their consideration).
And I’m sure some (small) degree of ill will, on both the part of physicists and the real/exist questioners, is warranted. Asking whether the object of someone’s studies are real or whether they exist is almost unavoidably derogatory. And surely some physics will turn out not to have been about or in search of anything that could reasonably be believed to be real or to exist, as has happened many times before.
That seems like a really tortured definition/interpretation/understanding of ’belief
If there is an ambiguity in natural language, then an attempt unpick it will look unnatural.
Consider a situation where two theories are equally supported by evidence. If a physicist backs theory A over theory B that would be the kind of belief that Sabine is rejecting.. I think.
I agree with respect to classification but not for demarcation – if it’s unclear how to demarcate two entities isn’t it unclear whether two entities exist (versus one or none)?
In this and your other examples, one can adopt an arbitrary classification scheme, and then the question of whether the posits of the scheme exist can be settled straightforwardly. So problems of existence are not problems of existence per se but problems of classification.
I’m not sure what conceptions of ‘belief’ you have in mind in the first part of your reply. Are you claiming tho that Sabine, and other physicists, as shminux claims, don’t have beliefs as would be commonly understood? Even about physics, or the accuracy of the mainstream theories in that field? I admit to being confused as to exactly what point shminux, or Sabine, are trying to make tho.
I find it hard to imagine what Sabine or shminux could have in mind if what you write is true. They, apparently, would claim that the some physics theories are accurate. In what sense do those claims not correspond to beliefs, e.g. that the theories actually are accurate?
Maybe you’re on to something about this whole discussion being confusing because the participants, particularly Sabine or shminux, aren’t explicitly discussing degrees of certainty or amounts and strength of evidence. For example, it certainly seems completely reasonable to reply to “Do black holes exist? Are they real?” with something like “They’re predicted by our best theories of physics and we have pretty strong indirect evidence of their existence, in specific places (in space-time), so we’re reasonably certain that they do in fact exist and are real. For one, we’ve generated an image of one that’s relatively nearby and all the methods we used to do so seem, as far as we can tell, to be eminently reasonable based on everything else we know (and believe to be true).”.
Sure, if by “the Higgs-boson, quarks, black holes, let alone planets, species, individual people” we ‘only meant’ something like a (Vast) group of quantum field excitations (or similar). But, as far as I can tell, we mean very different things by each of those different words or phrases. It seems pretty obvious to me that the ‘reality’ of a species is a very different thing than the reality of an individual, and neither are always clear in every situation. During speciation, it’s not clear when one species has become many – so the ‘reality’ of the species, one or many, seems less real to me, in that specific situation anyways. Similarly, victims of brain trauma are often described as ‘like another person’ – that seems to clearly infringe on the ‘reality’ of personal identity, which seems like a pretty important component of personhood. Generally, the degree to which a concept or category is nebulous seems to match how ‘real’ it is, or seems.
These claims-to-accuracy are not beliefs in the sense that they are based on evidence and are subject to revision, and are therefore not certain.
There may be some issues about the classification or demarcation of complex entities , but they are not necessarily the same as issues about the existence of entities.
For instance, there was confusion about whether the platypus was a mammal or marsupial, but no dou t that they exist.
That seems like a really tortured definition/interpretation/understanding of ‘belief’. What’s the motivation for that? To distinguish these “claims-to-accuracy” as different than religious belief? I’m confused why this rhetorical stance is useful or interesting given that even religious belief is based on evidence and subject to revision, and even very few religious believers claim total or complete certainty.
I agree with respect to classification but not for demarcation – if it’s unclear how to demarcate two entities isn’t it unclear whether two entities exist (versus one or none)?
And generally, because of the seemingly inevitable issues with demarcating individual entities of a given class, it’s less clear that they exist, or the reality of their existence (as entities of that class) seems less obvious, i.e. they are ‘less real’.
I’m suggesting that ‘is real’ and ‘exists’ are not binary values but rather magnitudes. Unicorns seem pretty clearly ‘not real’ and that it is true that they ‘do not exist’ (and never existed). But the magnitude of their reality or non-existence is not perfectly un-real or non-existent, as even something folk tales that mention them is (very) weak evidence that they might be real or might have existed (or might still exist somewhere).
Here are two of my favorite examples of categories of entities that are somewhat unreal or less ‘existential’:
Tectonic plates
The species of dogs, wolves, and coyotes
For tectonic plates, it’s not obvious how many exist, thus the existence of some possible plates is uncertain. Obviously the components of plates exist but, at least for some (possible) plates, it’s not clear that they do exist or are ‘real’ – as tectonic plates.
And dogs, wolves, and coyotes can all interbreed, and produce sexually fertile offspring, and genetic evidence of existing (individual) dogs, wolves, or coyotes indicate that they are all genetically intermixed. Are those species real? Do those species exist? Surely, in general, the individual members of those species exist, but do the species themselves exist? Are those species ‘real’? It seems clear to me that the ‘reality’ of those three species is strictly less than the reality of any members of those species.
Note that I am not defending Sabine’s usage, just trying to understand it.
I wasn’t trying to attack you, or Sabine or shminux either, so I’m sorry if seemed that way to you.
I think I understand their position pretty well – all of the questions they supposedly face about whether the objects of study are ‘real’ or whether they ‘exist’ are almost certainly frustrating. Obviously all of those objects are real enough, or likely enough to exist, in the sense that a sufficient cumulative weight of evidence exists and is accepted, for it to be almost entirely uncontroversial for professional physics to study them. On one end of professional practice of their field, just studying the relevant mathematics is a perfectly accepted practice in and of itself. On the other end, there’s sufficient observational evidence, especially given the corresponding (accepted) theoretical interpretations, that the study of these objects is by itself relatively mundane and unremarkable.
The annoying real/exists questions are almost certainly interpreted as critical, if not negative, judgements implying that the physicists at whom the questions are addressed are either stupid or naive, or maliciously deceptive, for believing the objects of study as being (sufficiently) real or existing. So I’d expect an almost overwhelming urge for them, the physicists, to want to avoid dealing with such questions or otherwise to be able to themselves imply or aver that such questions are stupid or naive, or even unanswerable (and thus not ‘scientific’, i.e. worthy of their consideration).
And I’m sure some (small) degree of ill will, on both the part of physicists and the real/exist questioners, is warranted. Asking whether the object of someone’s studies are real or whether they exist is almost unavoidably derogatory. And surely some physics will turn out not to have been about or in search of anything that could reasonably be believed to be real or to exist, as has happened many times before.
If there is an ambiguity in natural language, then an attempt unpick it will look unnatural. Consider a situation where two theories are equally supported by evidence. If a physicist backs theory A over theory B that would be the kind of belief that Sabine is rejecting.. I think.
In this and your other examples, one can adopt an arbitrary classification scheme, and then the question of whether the posits of the scheme exist can be settled straightforwardly. So problems of existence are not problems of existence per se but problems of classification.