the belief that

[Vladv]

Is it true that if a give a description of a phenomenon, even if I don't cite verbatim from an encyclopedia, I should use the article THE the before a noun followed by a -that content clause. For example, if someone asked me what reincarnation is, I will say
"Reincarnation is THE belief that your soul is recycled and sent back to Earth after death".
But, if I talked about my personal belief, I could use either "I hold A/THE belief that your soul is recycled and sent back to Earth after death", right?
The bigger problem I have is which article to choose before nouns followed by that content clauses. Could you please give any guidelines? Such patterns are not explained in the textbooks.

 

[jutfrank]

Is it true that ... ?

A lot of your questions start like this, Vlad. It seems as if you've heard or read something about this before. No, it's not true.

"Reincarnation is THE belief that your soul is recycled and sent back to Earth after death".

Yes, that's fine.

But, if I talked about my personal belief, I could use either "I hold A/THE belief that your soul is recycled and sent back to Earth after death", right?

Yes. Which one to choose depends on the meaning.

The bigger problem I have is which article to choose before nouns followed by that content clauses.

I'm not convinced that's your problem. I would say the fact that you're even asking this question is the problem. The choice of article is determined by meaning.

Could you please give any guidelines? Such patterns are not explained in the textbooks.

I've dealt with dozens of Russian speakers asking me about article usage, but no one has ever taken the approach that you take of looking for grammatical patterns. My guidance to you would be to change your approach completely and try to look at it from a semantic perspective—focus on meaning rather than patterns.

 

[Annabel Lee]

"Reincarnation is THE belief that your soul is recycled and sent back to Earth after death".

One can believe in reincarnation, but reincarnation is not a belief. It is the phenomenon itself, assuming it takes place:

Reincarnation is the soul's being recycled and sent back to Earth after death. ​

 

[teechar]

One can believe in reincarnation,

I don't, but that's beside the point.

but reincarnation is not a belief.

It is just that! It's a supposition.

It is the phenomenon itself,

A phenomenon is something that can be proven or is otherwise observable in reality. Reincarnation satisfies neither of these conditions.

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't, but that's beside the point.

It is just that! It's a supposition.

A phenomenon is something that can be proven or is otherwise observable in reality. Reincarnation satisfies neither of these conditions.

I'm on the fence about this one. Just because you can say "I believe in + noun" doesn't necessarily mean you can say "Noun + is a belief". For example "I believe in god" doesn't convert happily to "God is a belief". I would say, in this context, that one can believe in reincarnation but it's generally part of a wider intangible unprovable belief system (ie a religion).

 

[Annabel Lee]

A phenomenon is something that can be proven or is otherwise observable in reality. Reincarnation satisfies neither of these conditions.

It doesn't satisfy those conditions for you. Do you want to assume that there is no way to observe it, that there is no one for whom it is observable, and that it is therefore purely a religious fiction, which half the world neverthless believes in? What evidence have you that everyone else besides you is, like you, unable to observe it?

 

[Annabel Lee]

Just because you can say "I believe in + noun" doesn't necessarily mean you can say "Noun + is a belief".

How about this one, then?

Evaporation is the belief that "a liquid transforms into a gas at the surface" (A.I.).​

I would say, in this context, that one can believe in reincarnation but it's generally part of a wider intangible unprovable belief system (ie a religion).

Please my reply to teechar. That it is unprovable or unobservable to you does not mean that it is necessarily unprovable and unobservable to everyone else. You may claim those things as articles of your anti-reincarnation faith, however.

 

[Glizdka]

It doesn't satisfy those conditions for you. Do you want to assume that there is no way to observe it, that there is no one for whom it is observable, and that it is therefore purely a religious fiction, which half the world neverthless believes in? What evidence have you that everyone else besides you is, like you, unable to observe it?

Onus probandi, my friend! Teechar doesn't have to prove anything here. Reincarnation has never been proven, observed, or explained under scientific scrutiny. Until that happens, it will remain in the realm of religious fiction, wishful thinking, and fairy tales.

And as for the argument that half the world believes in it: just because a bunch of flies are buzzing around it doesn’t make it anything more than a pile of sh*t.

Please my reply to teechar. That it is unprovable or unobservable to you does not mean that it is necessarily unprovable and unobservable to everyone else. You may claim those things as articles of your anti-reincarnation faith, however

Not believing in something is not a faith, just as not collecting postage stamps is not a hobby.

 

[jutfrank]

Again, I would stress that it always comes down to meaning and you have to analyse these things case by case rather than by looking for general patterns—in this case, the question pertains to the meaning of the verb believe and its associated noun belief.

Reincarnation is the belief that ...

I agree with Annabel Lee that this is badly phrased, since reincarnation is not a belief, or something that one can possibly believe. We can easily get rid of this problem by substititing the word belief for, say, idea:

Reincarnation is the idea that ...

The verb 'believe' is one of a group of verbs that show a commitment to some propositional content, usually expressed in a 'that'-clause:

I believe that the Earth is flat.

The belief here is the mental commitment to the truth of the proposition expressed by the 'that'-clause. (I think we'd better leave believing 'in' something aside for the moment.)

@Vladv: I understand that the main part of your question involves article usage, not the semantics of the word 'believe', but I think this discussion shows that you have to get some very good examples to study if you want to understand that better. Articles are tricky because they require context in order to understand why they are being used.

I hold a belief that ...
I hold the belief that ...

Both of these are equally possible so I don't think you can really study any pattern. The difference lies in how identifiable the speaker believes the particular belief to be. Here's a good example:

the belief that the Earth is flat

Here, 'the' works well because this is a commonly known belief, which is easily recognised by pretty much all listeners.

 

[Annabel Lee]

Teechar doesn't have to prove anything here.

I never said she did.

Reincarnation has never been proven, observed, or explained under scientific scrutiny.

How can you be so sure?

And as for the argument that half the world believes in it: just because a bunch of flies are buzzing around it doesn’t make it anything more than a pile of sh*t.

You'd like to believe that I was committing the bandwagon fallacy, wouldn't you.

Not believing in something is not a faith, just as not collecting postage stamps is not a hobby.

I wasn't talking about lack of belief. I was talking about the belief that reincarnation is unobservable and unprovable. To believe that evaporation is unobservable and unprovable would amount to having faith in its nonexistence, would it not? You and teechar are not expressing agnosticism regarding reincarnation. Your minds are closed; they are absolutely made up against it. You vehemently deny its existence and the existence of any form of evidence in its support. Effectively, then, you have faith in the unreality of reincarnation. And more power to you -- this doesn't have anything to do with grammar.

 

[Glizdka]

You seem to have compelling evidence for reincarnation. Would you mind sharing it with me?

 

[emsr2d2]

This thread has moved a long way from the original grammar question. Those users who wish to continue this conversation about reincarnation itself, please do so either by Private Message or by starting a new thread in the General Members Discussion sub-forum.