Acting as if a belief were true produces the same actions as actual truth

Evidence

If people believe it to be true, that will not make it true, but their actions will be the same as they would have been, if it had been true. Sympathy and understanding require that this should be understood. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1737 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

A belief is simply an assertion about a fact or law that we accept. It is something that we affirm, or at least acquiesce in, even though it is a matter of which we have no sure knowledge or proof. But it is something of which we are sufficiently confident to act upon. It is something we now accept as true. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 239 (#expands, via linked claim)

For example, Palestinians fighting to regain land on the West Bank from Israel may be described either as “freedom fighters” or as “terrorists.” It is a fact that they are fighting, but what does the fighting mean? The facts alone cannot decide. And the very language we use—“freedom fighters/terrorists”—is part of the difficulty. Moreover, certain descriptions, even if they appear false to us, can be made “true” because people act on them believing that they are true, and so their actions have real consequences. Whether the Palestinians are terrorists or not, if we think they are, and act on that “knowledge,” they in effect become terrorists because we treat them as such. The language (discourse) has real effects in practice: the description becomes “true.” — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 577 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: A belief is an accepted assertion lacking absolute proof but prompting action — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 239; Sincere belief shapes action regardless of the belief’s actual truth. — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1737; Descriptions can become true because people act on them believing they are true — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2: Identity…, 577 (+5 more)

Related

• Sincere belief shapes action regardless of the belief’s actual truth. (similarity 0.88)
• Descriptions can become true because people act on them believing they are true (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Sincere belief shapes action regardless of the belief’s actual truth. #corroborates (0.95) — Norman Daniel, Islam and the West, 1737
• A belief is an accepted assertion lacking absolute proof but prompting action #expands (0.85) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 239
• Descriptions can become true because people act on them believing they are true #expands (0.85) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 577
• Shared belief renders delusion indistinguishable from truth #expands (0.80) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 497
• A claim’s falsity does not bar it from structuring thought #expands (0.80) — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 179
• The elimination of effortful judgment erases the distinction between truth and falsehood #expands (0.75)