> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.derrickfarnell.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Is Belief? - URL: https://www.derrickfarnell.site/what-is-belief/ - Published: 2026-05-31T18:27:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-26T08:08:37.000Z - Author: Derrick Farnell ![Photorealistic close-up of a hand-written note stuck to a fridge door with a magnet, reading 'buy milk'.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/cd/86cd0066-a957-488f-b0e4-a5bc82f2723d/content/images/2026/08/Gemini_Generated_Image_ka6z7cka6z7cka6z-1-1-1-1.png) Image generated by Google Gemini *This article is part of the ongoing series* [*How Belief Works*](https://www.derrickfarnell.site/how-belief-works/)*, which is best read in order.* We all know what it means to believe something, from the significant, such as the belief that humans are apes, to the mundane, such as the belief that there's no milk in the fridge. Indeed, belief is one of the most basic concepts of human psychology. Yet it's also one of those everyday concepts that can be surprisingly difficult to define, like art or happiness. Any attempt must include that it's a psychological state involving a claim. In the above examples it's believed that *humans are apes* and that *there's no milk in the fridge*. Although claims are often asserted by someone, whether verbally or in writing, a believed claim hasn't necessarily been asserted by anyone, even the believer. Upon looking inside our fridge, we can form the belief *There's no milk in the fridge* without anyone, including ourselves, *asserting* on this occasion that there's no milk in our fridge. Also note that the term *belief* can refer to either the psychological state or the believed claim. That is, it can refer to either believing something or something believed. In the first sense, my belief *There's no milk in the fridge* is a different thing from someone else's belief *There's no milk in the fridge*, regarding the same fridge, because they're separate psychological states existing in different heads. But in the second sense, they're the same thing. So the term *mundane belief* can refer to either believing a mundane claim or a mundane claim that's believed – and likewise for the term *significant belief*. However, we often use the term *belief* by itself to mean a significant claim that's believed, whether moral, political, religious, historical, philosophical or scientific. For example, when we refer to defending our beliefs, we're referring to defending particular significant claims we believe. This series concerns our belief of any kind of claim, however significant or mundane. Other examples of mundane beliefs are my current beliefs *I’m in my flat*, *I'm sitting on a chair at my desk*, *I'm typing these words*, *It's Tuesday morning*, *It’s sunny outside*, and *I went for a hike along a river yesterday*. Given that the psychological state of belief involves a claim, the following definition can seem as obvious as it is simple: considering a claim to be true. But although this definition can seem irrefutable, it's fatally flawed – as I’ll explain in the next article, on how beliefs form. [Share](#) Next article: How Beliefs Form – Part 1 (forthcoming) [How Belief Works](https://www.derrickfarnell.site/how-belief-works/) ### Support my work ![Photo of a home desk with a laptop connected to a monitor.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/86/cd/86cd0066-a957-488f-b0e4-a5bc82f2723d/content/images/2026/08/PXL_20260804_115522839-EDIT2-3.jpg) My workspace My dream is to work full time as an independent researcher and a writer – I currently rely on two part-time jobs. However, I also want my writings to remain free and ad-free. So please consider helping fund my work – including helping me pay for books and online resources – by making a [one-time or monthly donation](https://www.derrickfarnell.site/donation-form) of your choice. You can also support my work just by [sharing this article](#). ### Feedback I view my published writings as still works in progress, and welcome feedback about both the writing and its content, *however minor*. I also welcome feedback about the website. You can comment below or [email me](https://www.derrickfarnell.site/contact-me/). ### Referencing this article If referencing this article, you should include the date of reading, as the content can change. Also, you can [save the current version in the Internet Archive](https://web.archive.org/save) and then link to the archived copy. ### Article history Past versions of this article are available in the Internet Archive [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20260000000000%2A/https://www.derrickfarnell.site/what-is-belief) – and, for previous locations, [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000%2A/https://www.derrickfarnell.site/articles/how-belief-works/what-is-belief), [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20250000000000%2A/https://www.derrickfarnell.site/how-belief-works/what-is-belief) and [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20251001000000%2A/https://www.derrickfarnell.site/how-belief-works/a-note-on-the-term-belief). There's also [an archive of this article on GitHub](https://github.com/derrickfarnell/derrickfarnell.site-archive/commits/main/posts/what-is-belief.md). ## Subscribe Submit Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup.