Reliance is objective constraint while belief requires subjective freedom

Evidence

The notion of reliance expresses complete confidence, a presumptively objective state where belief is no longer necessary. To rely on something is to be tied to it, bound (compare with religion), as to an objective condition of existence. When there is no choice, reliance become dependence. Belief, by contrast, connotes freedom of the subject to make commitments in the absence of full knowledge. Belief is a feeling that a person or thing will not fail in performance. Feeling varies inversely with evidence or proof. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2410

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies why reliance-as-binding (objective, choice-less) differs from trust-as-belief (subjective, chosen) — directly relevant to whether the blinded society sustains trust or merely dependence.
• QUESTION: If belief varies inversely with evidence, does Saramago’s epidemic — destroying sensory evidence — actually increase the felt need for faith rather than trust?