THINKING OR BELIEVING

Today I am going to talk about the difference between believing and thinking. I chose this topic because I thought that is very important in our lives to know the difference between “thinking” and “believing” and understanding how beliefs form and how they underlie subsequent attitudes and behaviours is important. Why? Because it can aid understanding of social phenomena like prejudice and discrimination, helping and aggressive behaviours, interpersonal attraction, and group decision making. In general, beliefs are the most basic type of social knowledge.

“Thinking and believing are two very different phenomenon.” Dr. Michael Hall. Do “ Think” and “ believe” mean the same thing? consider two sentences:

• Amira believes that God exists.
• Amira thinks that a lake is bigger than lake Mariout exists.

Both sentences attribute mental states to Amira. And each breaks down into an attitude (thinks/ believes) and a content (that of God... / that of a Lake...). So let's dig deeper to understand the difference between Thinking and believing.

What is the Meaning of Thinking?

Thinking is a mental behaviour wherein ideas, pictures, cognitive symbolizations, or other hypothetical components of thoughts are experienced. Thinking is inclusive of imagining, recalling, solving problems, and questioning.