Dare to Believe in Bigfoot

Posted by admin on November 30, 2007

== While I take a break for the holidays, enjoy “The Best of Bigfoot Quest.” ==

** part two in the Semantics Series **

In my post “The Semantics of Sasquatch,” I expressed my irritation with Bigfoot researchers who misuse words. In that essay, I talked about the words primate and ape. Today, I’ll focus on a word that inspires more anger and resentment than any other six letters jammed together: belief.

Bigfooters don’t want to be called believers. They studiously avoid using the words belief or believe. What are they afraid of?

Belief can refer to an acceptance of the tenets endorsed by a group, such as a religious institution. But belief also means “a conviction of the truth of some statement or the reality of some being or phenomenon esp. when based on examination of evidence.” Conviction quite literally means “the state of being convinced.”

Think about the definition I just quoted for the word belief—”a conviction…of the reality of some being or phenomenon.” What’s wrong with being convinced that a being or phenomenon is real? If you don’t think Bigfoot are real, then why exactly are you investigating the sightings?

The second part of the definition states “esp. when based on examination of evidence.” In essence, belief happens when you examine the evidence for a phenomenon and become convinced of the reality of that phenomenon. I see nothing silly or unscientific about belief. To believe simply means “to hold an opinion.” Without opinions, without belief, science would never advance. Truth begins as a question, followed up by the gathering and examination of evidence, and culminating in an informed opinion—i.e. a belief.

I believe in Bigfoot. And I’m not ashamed to say so.

Definitions taken from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition

Source: Dare to Believe in Bigfoot