Lecture 14: Words Relating to Belief and Trust

Words Relating to Belief and Trust

Lecture 14

T

he great 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once

said, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now

on I can’t believe you.” Nietzsche’s quote shows just how closely

trust and belief—the two themes of this lecture—are tied together. English

has a number of precise and powerful words to describe different facets

of trust and belief. As we explore vocabulary centering on these themes,

we will also answer these questions: What’s an apostate, and is it related

WR DQ DSRVWOH" $QG ZKDW¶V WKH GLIIHUHQFH DPRQJequivocal, ambiguous,

and ambivalent"

Dogmatic (adjective)

Characterized by an authoritative, arrogant assertion of unproven ideas.

z Dogmatic can describe someone who adheres to one way and

only one way—someone who is narrow-minded rather than open-

minded. The word might be used in context as follows: “The CEO’s

dogmatic adherence to her way of doing business—because that’s

the way she had always worked—led the company down the path to

eventual bankruptcy.”

z Synonyms and related words for dogmatic include authoritarian,

imperious, and doctrinaire. Use imperious if you want to emphasize

someone’s haughty, overbearing manner. Use doctrinaire if you

want to emphasize stubborn adherence to a doctrine or theory even

if it’s not practical. More informal terms for dogmatic include

pushy, opinionated, one-sided, and narrow-minded.

z The noun form of dogmatic is dogma, which means “doctrines and

beliefs relating to morality and faith.” The original Greek word

dogma meant an “opinion, tenet” or, literally, “that which one

thinks is true.” Thus, the original meaning of dogma—“an opinion,