Is it superstitious to believe in things you don't understand?

Question

Tomteboda, in the section where you describe a person who does not fully understand Atomic Theory, yet this person accepts it as valid, is that person not exhibiting a leap of faith and therefore believing due to ignorance? According to the definition, would this person not be considered superstitious?

Answer 1

I always like to refer to the dictionary when I start defining things, like"superstitious".

Merriam-Webster's defines "superstitious" as follows:

"1 a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation b : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition

"2 : a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary"

Given that you did not choose to define whether all belief in things that aren't understood fully qualifies for superstition, or whether only some belief in things that are poorly understood is superstition, or some point in the middle, I will choose the most conclusive definition of the question.

Then, I will address "is belief in any thing that you do not fully understand superstitious?" using the example of John Dalton's Atomic Theory.

It is commonly believed that all physical objects are made up of tiny, discrete particles called "atoms". This belief arose first in a very imperfect form with the writings of the Greek philosophers Leucippus and Democritus in the fifth century B.C.E.

Today, chemists can still only indirectly observe the presence of atoms, though all experimental evidence points to their existence (in a radically different way than the Greek philosophers first conceptualized them!). Since Atomic Theory is a system of describing the physical world in terms of something not directly observable but which explains all known observations and is contradicted by none, acceptance of Atomic Theory is a type of belief. Recall that belief is "a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing", or more aptly "conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon especially when based on examination of evidence".

Then, acceptance of Atomic Theory is a type of belief. Is AtomicTheory fully understood? It is, as are all other scientific theories, accepted without being proven (unlike a fact; which is another definition nightmare, but suffice it to say it is ridiculous to even speak of "proving" theories as they occupy a different set of logical uses than "facts").

Suppose for the sake of argument it is possible that someone were to fully comprehend atomic theory; their belief is not superstitious by the definition of superstition. Most people who accept Atomic Theory, however, do not fully understand Atomic Theory. Are they then exhibiting a superstitious belief as it is belief in something which is not fully understood?

We return to the definition of "superstition":
"1 a : a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation "

Since greater knowledge of chemistry and atoms leads to more firm acceptance of Atomic Theory, most people are not motivated to accept this by fear, magic, or chance, and all causation studies indicate the authority of Atomic Theory, this definition of superstition clearly fails.

"1 b : an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition"

Acceptance of Atomic Theory is, insofar as I am aware, never considered irrational, nor does it have anything to do with the supernatural of any sort. Therefore, under definition 1b of superstition, acceptance of Atomic Theory does not qualify.

Definition 2 of superstition is ""a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary"" As all physical evidence points to the correctness of Atomic Theory (within its scope), the acceptance (belief in) Atomic Theory, however ill-understood, cannot be superstition because the evidence all supports that belief!

Thus, I have shown that belief in Atomic Theory requires acceptance of things not completely physically observable, and reliance on indirect observation typically filtered through the expertise of other people. Belief in Atomic Theory is belief in something which is not completely understood (and may not be completely understandable, depending on how you define the word "understood"). However, belief in Atomic Theory fails to qualify under any definition of the term "superstition", as it is supported by reason and physical evidence.

Therefore, since there exists at least one belief on principles that are not fully understood that is not superstition, one cannot define superstition in the way which you have defined the word.

Answer 2

I believe superstitious are a act of the devil. I believe if your a Christian you should not believe in that nonsense. (However, It's hard not to when someone tells you something) Like breaking a mirror 7 years bad luck. Well if that's the case I'm doomed. If your a true believer, and you have Faith in God, you know it's the Devil at work. If you know the word of God, you know he never said anything about Black Cats, so if God didn't say it, or Jesus didn't say it, don't believe it. I walk under ladders too. I already know this land belongs to Satan, so I just pray everyday and shove his superstitious where the sun don't shine. You got enough worries without all that.

Answer 3

no, not always. For the longest time scientist could not understand how a bee can fly, but that doesn't mean that they didn't believe that it could. There are so many things that we do not understand. Superstition is defined as an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious. It's when our beliefs go against all reason and common sense, that they become superstition. I believe in God, and I believe that Jesus came and died for my sins. I know this is true because I have gone through doubt and searched through information and inside myself to see that it is not only factually possible, but I have seen the results of His love in my own life. I didn't mean to give you a mini sermon, but that is how i know the difference between belief and superstition.

Answer 4

No! It is superstitious not to explore the unknown. We don't really understand how we really came to be here or how the world started where did god come from. You know he didn't just pop up he had to come from somewhere.So how can that be superstition? Just because we really don't understand something is not to be superstitious it is to be curious. We are naturally curious of the unknown. So maybe it is just human nature.

Answer 5

Superstitious is the act of forcing yourself to believe something, otherwise you'll be in deep S*#!
So in the back of your mind, you dont understand why are you doing that but you still do.

Answer 6

It depends. being superstitious means that you believe in something IRRATIONAL. Meaning that you believe in something that is based on nothing, or in something that doesn't make sense.

So...Although we do not fully understand God, we still believe in him because it is only RATIONAL for us to do so.

Thus, rational beliefs can never be superstitious.

Answer 7

people do it all the time
black cats, people don't know why they're bad luck, they just are. Or even more convincing, Christanity in general. I am a christian and i can completely say I don't understand god. There's so much mystery, but we believe, it's called faith

Answer 8

Superstition is the state of mind. Yes but it would be more appropriate to call it ingnorance or 'blind faith'. If incase we don't know about something we should try to gather as much information about it and act accordingly

Answer 9

no not all there r many things in thisworld that fails logic and may b superstitious to others but that doesnt mean that they dont happen or r not there

Answer 10

No, I believe in God,.. and having a God is not a superstitious belief