doubt
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(dout) 
v., doubt·ed, doubt·ing, doubts. v.tr.
To be undecided or skeptical.
n.
v., doubt·ed, doubt·ing, doubts. v.tr.
- To be undecided or skeptical about: began to doubt some accepted doctrines.
- To tend to disbelieve; distrust: doubts politicians when they make sweeping statements.
- To regard as unlikely: I doubt that we'll arrive on time.
- Archaic. To suspect; fear.
To be undecided or skeptical.
n.
- A lack of certainty that often leads to irresolution. See synonyms at uncertainty.
- A lack of trust.
- A point about which one is uncertain or skeptical: reassured me by answering my doubts.
- The condition of being unsettled or unresolved: an outcome still in doubt.
beyond (or without) doubt
- Without question; certainly; definitely.
- Certainly.
- Probably.
[Middle English douten, from Old French douter, from Latin dubitāre, to waver.]
doubter doubt'er n.USAGE NOTE Doubt and doubtful may be followed by clauses introduced by that, whether, or if. The choice among these three is partly guided by the intended meaning of the sentence but is not cast in stone. Whether normally introduces an indirect question and is therefore the traditional choice when the subject is in a state of genuine uncertainty about alternative possibilities: Sue has studied so much philosophy this year that she has begun to doubt whether she exists. Similarly, when doubtful indicates uncertainty, whether is probably the correct choice: At one time it was doubtful whether the company could recover from its financial difficulties, but the bank loan has helped. On the other hand, that is the choice when one uses doubt as an understated way of expressing disbelief: I doubt that we have seen the last of that problem, meaning "I think we haven't seen the last of that problem." That is also the usual choice when the truth of the clause following doubt is assumed, as in negative sentences and questions. Thus I never doubted for a minute that I would be rescued implies "I was certain that I would be rescued." By the same token, Do you doubt that you will be paid? seems to pose a rhetorical question ("Surely you believe that you will be paid"), whereas Do you doubt whether you will be paid? may express a genuine request for information and might be followed by because if you do, you should make the client post a bond. In other cases, however, this distinction between whether and that is not always observed. If may also be used as a substitute for whether but is more informal in tone. • In informal speech the clause following doubt is sometimes introduced with but: I don't doubt but (or but what) he will come. Although modern critics sometimes object to its use in formal writing, reputable precedent exists for this construction, as Richard Steele's remark "I do not doubt but England is at present as polite a Nation as any in the World." See Usage Notes at but, if.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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doubt
verb
- To be uncertain, disbelieving, or skeptical about: distrust, misdoubt, mistrust, question, wonder. Idioms: have one's doubts. See certain/uncertain.
- To lack trust or confidence in: distrust, misdoubt, mistrust, suspect. See trust/distrust.
noun
- A lack of conviction or certainty: doubtfulness, dubiety, dubiousness, incertitude, mistrust, question, skepticism, suspicion, uncertainty, wonder. See certain/uncertain.
- Lack of trust: distrust, leeriness, mistrust, suspicion. See trust/distrust.
Antonyms by Answers.com:
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doubt
n
Definition: lack of faith, conviction; questioning
Antonyms: belief, certainty, confidence, dependence, faith, reliance, trust
v
Definition: lack confidence in; question
Antonyms: be certain, believe, not question, rely, trust
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The state of neither believing nor disbelieving a proposition; a suspension of judgement. Classically skepticism has advocated that we doubt either everything, or as much as possible, or in more local forms, propositions of some particular kind.
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The distinction between doubt as an instrument of rational thought and pathological doubt was known to philosophers (Descartes, Spinoza) long before Freud, and had long been studied as a symptom or syndrome in psychiatry. Théodule Ribot defined doubt as "a conflict between two tendencies in thought, incompatible and antagonistic, without any possible reconciliation, into a succession of positive and negative judgments about the same subject that does not culminate in a conclusion" (1925). In his study on obsessional neurosis, Freud noted that "[a]nother mental need . . . obsessional neurotics . . . is the need for uncertainty in their life, or for doubt" (1909d, p. 232).
Freud first discussed doubt in his work on dreams where he saw it as a mark of resistance and an indication to the analyst of the significance of the repressed element to which it related. But for the most part Freud considered doubt in the context of obsessional neurosis, where it applied to events that had already occurred, and could be seen above all as an expression of ambivalence, a repudiation of the instinct for mastery as sublimated into an instinct for knowledge (1913i, p. 324).
The etiology of doubt as a symptom is analyzed at length in the case history of the "Rat Man" (1909d). Freud summarized it in a letter of April 21, 1918, to Lou Andreas-Salomé: "The tendency to doubt arises not from any occasion for doubt, but is the continuation of the powerful ambivalent tendencies in the pregenital phase, which from then on become attached to every pair of opposites that present themselves" (1966/1972, p. 77).
Obsessional thought, however, to characterize it more accurately, has three somewhat different aspects: uncertainty, hesitation, and doubt. Uncertainty can be viewed as that voluntary blurring of references, which underpins the aversion for watches, for example. Doubt, for its part, is an internal perception of indecision, which just like hesitation is associated with the volitional sphere, whereas uncertainty belongs to the cognitive and doubt to the affective. These three aspects do not necessarily function simultaneously, as witness the fact that we can be certain yet unable to decide on action; at the same time, action can overcome hesitation in the absence of the slightest certainty about the reasonableness of that decision. The essence of wisdom would be to achieve certainty before abandoning hesitation—the precise attribute obsessionals find it so hard to adopt (Mijolla-Mellor, 1992).
Apropos of the Rat Man, Freud mentions the "predilection for uncertainty" of obsessional neurotics who turn their thoughts to "those subjects upon which all mankind are uncertain and upon which our knowledge and judgments must necessarily remain open to doubt" (1909d, p. 232-33). This tendency extends to easily accessible knowledge, seemingly as a form of protection against the risk of knowing. In fact the obsessive neutralizes any idea, any decision, by evoking its opposite. Thus hesitation and the predilection for uncertainty constitute the cognitive aspect of the impossibility of choosing, an attitude that serves to delay action indefinitely. The obsessive is paralyzed by ambivalence, immobilized by two instinctual impulses directed at the same object.
What is the source of this ambivalence? Since it is too general a concept to determine the "choice of neurosis," Freud offered a hypothesis based on constitutional factors: "The sadistic components of love have, from constitutional causes, been exceptionally strongly developed." And in terms of individual history, these "have consequently undergone a premature and all too thorough suppression" (1909d, p. 240).
Serge Leclaire (1971) has made significant contributions to our understanding of the nature of doubt in the obsessive individual, which he sums up rather laconically as "He doubts because he knows."
Bibliography
Freud, Sigmund. (1909d). Notes upon a case of obsessional neurosis. SE, 10: 151-318.
——. (1913i). The disposition to obsessional neurosis: a contribution to the problem of choice of neurosis. SE, 12: 311-326.
Freud, Sigmund, and Andreas-Salomé, Lou. (1972). Sigmund Freud and Lou Andreas-Salomé; letters. (Ernst Pfeiffer, Ed. and William and Elaine Robson-Scott, Trans.). New York: Harcourt Brace. (Original work published 1966)
Janet, Pierre. (1909). Les Névroses. Paris: Flammarion.
Leclaire, Serge. (1971). Démasquer le reel. Paris: Le Seuil, "Champ freudien."
Mijolla-Mellor, Sophie de. (1992). Le Plaisir de pensée. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
—SOPHIEDE MIJOLLA-MELLOR
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This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.
To question or hold questionable. Uncertainty of mind; the absence of a settled opinion or conviction; the attitude of mind toward the acceptance of or belief in a proposition, theory, or statement, in which the judgment is not at rest but inclines alternately to either side.
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is not beyond all possible or imaginary doubt, but such proof as precludes every reasonable hypothesis except that which it tends to support. It is proof to a moral certainty, that is, such proof as satisfies the judgment and consciences of the jury, as reasonable people and applying their reason to the evidence before them, that the crime charged has been committed by the defendant, and so satisfies them as to leave no other reasonable conclusion possible.
A reasonable doubt is such a doubt as would cause a reasonable and prudent person in the graver and more important affairs of life to pause and hesitate to act upon the truth of the matter charged. It does not mean a mere possible doubt, because everything relating to human affairs, and depending on moral evidence, is open to some possible or imaginary doubt.
The journal of the Fortean Society, devoted to highlighting and discussing "Fortean data,"—strange and anomalistic scientific phenomena collected by Charles Fort. It was first published as the Fortean Society Journal in September 1937. The name was changed to Doubt with the eleventh issue (Winter 1944-45). It ceased publication with issue no. 61 after the death of editor Tiffany Thayer. The Fortean community is now served by a number of succeeding publications, including the Fortean Times,Chaos: The Review of the Damned, and INFO.
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doubt
IN BRIEF: To be unsure of something.
I love to doubt as well as know.
— Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), Italian poet and statesman.
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Sign Language Videos:
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doubt
sign description: The V- handshape begins with the fingers toward the eyes. The V is then pulled away while the fingers bend. There is also a negative head shake.
Quotes About:
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Doubt
Quotes:
"When you doubt, abstain."
- Zoroaster
"When in doubt, ask. When not in doubt, ask."
- Source Unknown
"When in charge ponder. When in trouble delegate. When in doubt mumble."
- Source Unknown
"Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death"
- Source Unknown
"Life is doubt, and faith without doubt is nothing but death."
- Miguel De Unamuno
"Faith keeps many doubts in her pay. If I could not doubt, I should not believe."
- Henry David Thoreau
See more famous quotes about Doubt
See crossword solutions for the clue
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This article is about the mental state. For other uses, see Doubt (disambiguation).
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| Euthyphro dilemma · God complex Neurotheology · Ontology Philosophy · Problem of evil Religion · Religious texts Portrayals of God in popular media |
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This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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Doubt, a status between belief and disbelief, involves uncertainty or distrust or lack of sureness of an alleged fact, an action, a motive, or a decision. Doubt brings into question some notion of a perceived "reality", and may involve delaying or rejecting relevant action out of concerns for mistakes or faults or appropriateness. Some definitions of doubt emphasize the state in which the mind remains suspended between two contradictory propositions and unable to assent to either of them[1] (compare paradox).
The concept of doubt covers a range of phenomena: one can characterise both deliberate questioning of uncertainties and an emotional state of indecision as "doubt".
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Contents
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Impact on society
Doubt sometimes tends to call on reason. Doubt may encourage people to hesitate before acting, and/or to apply more rigorous methods. Doubt may have particular importance as leading towards disbelief or non-acceptance.
Politics, ethics and law, with decisions that often determine the course of individual life, place great importance on doubt, and often foster elaborate adversarial processes to carefully sort through all available evidence.
Societally, doubt creates an atmosphere of distrust, being accusatory in nature and de facto alleging either foolishness or deceit on the part of another. Such a stance has been fostered in Western European society since the Enlightenment, in opposition to tradition and authority.
Psychology
Psychoanalysts[who?] attribute doubt (which they may interpret as a symptom of a phobia emanating from the ego) to childhood, when the ego develops. Childhood experiences, these traditions maintain, can plant doubt about one's abilities and even about one's very identity.
Cognitive mental as well as more spiritual approaches abound in response to the wide variety of potential causes for doubt. Behavioral therapy — in which a person systematically asks his own mind if the doubt has any real basis — uses rational, Socratic methods. This method contrasts to those of say, the Buddhist faith, which involve a more esoteric approach to doubt and inaction. Buddhism sees doubt as a negative attachment to one's perceived past and future. To let go of the personal history of one's life (affirming this release every day in meditation) plays a central role in releasing the doubts — developed in and attached to — that history.
Philosophy
Descartes employed Cartesian doubt as a pre-eminent methodological tool in his fundamental philosophical investigations. Branches of philosophy like logic devote much effort to distinguish the dubious, the probable and the certain. Much of illogic rests on dubious assumptions, dubious data or dubious conclusions, with rhetoric, whitewashing, and deception playing their accustomed roles.
Theology
Doubt that god(s) exist may form the basis of agnosticism — the belief that one cannot determine the existence or non-existence of god(s). It may also form other brands of skepticism, such as Pyrrhonism, which do not take a positive stance in regard to the existence of god(s), but remain negative. Alternatively, doubt over the existence of god(s) may lead to acceptance of a particular religion: compare Pascal's Wager. Doubt of a specific theology, scriptural or deistic, may bring into question the truth of that theology's set of beliefs. On the other hand, doubt as to some doctrines but acceptance of others may lead to the growth of heresy and/or the splitting off of sects or groups of thought. Thus proto-Protestants doubted papal authority, and substituted alternative methods of governance in their new (but still recognizably similar) churches.
Christianity often debates doubt in the contexts of salvation and eventual redemption in an afterlife. This issue has become particularly important in Protestantism, which requires only the acceptance of Jesus, though more contemporary versions have arisen within Protestant churches that resemble Catholicism. The debate appears less important in most other theologies[who?], religions and ethical traditions.
Doubt as a path towards (deeper) belief lies at the heart of the story of Saint Thomas the Apostle. Note in this respect the theological views of Georg Hermes:
... the starting-point and chief principle of every science, and hence of theology also, is not only methodical doubt, but positive doubt. One can believe only what one has perceived to be true from reasonable grounds, and consequently one must have the courage to continue doubting until one has found reliable grounds to satisfy the reason.[2]
Christian existentialists such as Søren Kierkegaard suggest that for one to truly have belief in God, one would also have to doubt one's beliefs about God; the doubt is the rational part of a person's thought involved in weighing evidence, without which the belief would have no real substance. Belief is not a decision based on evidence that, say, certain beliefs about God are true or a certain person is worthy of love. No such evidence could ever be enough to pragmatically justify the kind of total commitment involved in true theological belief or romantic love. Belief involves making that commitment anyway. Kierkegaard thought that to have belief is at the same time to have doubt.[3][4]
Law
Most criminal cases within an adversarial system require that the prosecution proves its contentions beyond a reasonable doubt — a doctrine also called the "Burden of Proof". This means that the State must present propositions which preclude "reasonable doubt" in the mind of a reasonable person as to the guilt of defendant. Some doubt may persist, but only to the extent that it would not affect a "reasonable person's" belief in the defendant's guilt. If the doubt raised does affect a "reasonable person's" belief, the jury is not satisfied beyond a "reasonable doubt". The jurisprudence of the applicable jurisdiction usually defines the precise meaning of words such as "reasonable" and "doubt" for such purposes.
Science
Many scientific advances have been started by doubt on preceding hypothesis.
See also
- Doubting Thomas
- Fear, uncertainty and doubt
- List of ethics topics
- Methodic doubt
- Philosophical skepticism
- Question
- Reasonable doubt
- Skepticism
Notes and references
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Doubt |
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Look up doubt or dubious in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Doubt |
- ^ See for example: Sharpe, Alfred. "Doubt". The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 5 (New York: Robert Appleton). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05141a.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-21. "A state in which the mind is suspended between two contradictory propositions and unable to assent to either of them."
- ^ Schulte, Karl Joseph (1910). "George Hermes". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 7. New York: Robert Appleton. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07276c.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments, ed. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong, v. 1, Princeton University Press, 1992, pp. 21–57
- ^ Soren Kierkegaard's Journals and Papers, trans. Hong and Malantschuk, p.399.
Further reading
- Berger, Peter L. and Zijderveld, Anton (2009). In Praise of Doubt: How to Have Convictions Without Becoming a Fanatic. New York: HarperOne. ISBN 978-0-06-177816-2. A book by two eminent sociologists, one American and the other Dutch.
- Hecht, Jennifer Michael (2003). Doubt: a history: the great doubters and their legacy of innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0-06-009795-7. This book traces the role of doubt through human history, all over the world, particularly regarding religion.
- Hein, David (Winter 2006). "Faith and Doubt in Rose Macaulay's The Towers of Trebizond". Anglican Theological Review 88 (1): 47-68. ISSN 0003-3286.
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This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Doubt
Dansk (Danish)
n. - tvivl, betænkelighed, uvished
v. tr. - tvivle på, ikke tro på, ikke stole på, sætte spørgsmålstegn ved, frygte, ane
v. intr. - være betænkelig, tvivle
idioms:
- be in doubt være i tvivl
- doubting Thomas vantro Tomas, skeptiker
- no doubt afgjort, uden tvivl
Nederlands (Dutch)
twijfelen, betwijfelen, twijfel zonder enige twijfel
Français (French)
n. - doute
v. tr. - douter de, mettre en doute
v. intr. - douter, avoir des doutes, ne pas être sûr de
idioms:
- doubting Thomas Thomas l'incrédule
- in doubt (être) dans le doute
- no doubt sans aucun doute
- without a doubt sans aucun doute
Deutsch (German)
v. - zweifeln, anzweifeln, bezweifeln
n. - Zweifel, Bedenken, Unsicherheit
idioms:
- doubting Thomas ungläubiger Thomas
- in doubt im Zweifel sein
- no doubt zweifellos
- without a doubt ohne [jeden] Zweifel
Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - αμφιβάλλω, δυσπιστώ, έχω ενδοιασμούς, θεωρώ απίθανο, αμφισβητώ
n. - αμφιβολία, αβεβαιότητα
idioms:
- be in doubt έχω αμφιβολίες, είμαι αβέβαιος, διστακτικός, είμαι αμφισβητήσιμος, "παίζομαι"
- doubting Thomas άπιστος Θωμάς
- no doubt αναμφίβολα, το δίχως άλλο
Italiano (Italian)
dubitare, dubbio
idioms:
- be in doubt essere in dubbio
- beyond reasonable doubt senza dubbio
- doubting Thomas Tommaso che non ci crede se non ci ficca il naso
- no doubt indubbiamente, senza dubbio
Português (Portuguese)
v. - duvidar
n. - dúvida (f)
idioms:
- be in doubt estar em dúvida
- beyond reasonable doubt sem dúvida razoável
- doubting Thomas ser como São Tomé (ver para crer)
- no doubt indubitavelmente
Русский (Russian)
сомневаться, колебаться, сомнение
idioms:
- be in doubt колебаться
- beyond reasonable doubt практически несомненно
- doubting Thomas Фома неверующий
- no doubt несомненно
Español (Spanish)
n. - duda, indecisión, incertidumbre, miedo
v. tr. - dudar, vacilar, titubear
v. intr. - mostrarse indeciso
idioms:
- doubting Thomas incrédulo, escéptico
- in doubt estar en duda, incerteza
- no doubt es indudable que, no cabe duda de que
- without a doubt sin duda
Svenska (Swedish)
v. - misstro, tvivla
n. - tvivel
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
怀疑, 疑惑, 不能肯定, 不相信, 恐怕
idioms:
- be in doubt 不能肯定的
- doubting Thomas 一贯抱怀疑态度的人
- no doubt 无疑地
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 懷疑, 疑惑
v. tr. - 懷疑, 不能肯定, 不相信, 恐怕
v. intr. - 懷疑
idioms:
- be in doubt 不能肯定的
- doubting Thomas 一貫抱懷疑態度的人
- no doubt 無疑地
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 의구심, 불확실함
v. tr. - ~을 미심쩍어 하다, 우려하다
v. intr. - 의심하다
idioms:
- be in doubt ~를 의심하다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 疑い, 不信
v. - 疑う
idioms:
- be in doubt 疑って, 不確かに
- doubting Thomas 疑い深い人
- no doubt 疑いなく, さだめし
العربيه (Arabic)
(فعل) يشك, يرتاب (الاسم) شك, ارتياب
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ספק, פקפוק
v. tr. - הטיל ספק, פקפק ב-
v. intr. - הטיל ספק, פקפק ב-
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International Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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