Well, you could play a game with words and conclude that since we believe with our brains, and those are the seats of our psyches, or some such thing, by definition any belief is the product of a psyche, and therefore is a psychological artifact, and not a function of reason.
But we do make distinctions, and we all accept them. We would consider 'psychological' a lonely, needy friend's firm conviction that the boyfriend she's so crazy about is a wonderful marriage prospect even though it's been pointed out to her that he's been married three times has a history of wife abuse and is in rehab, ( that is, we recognize that her belief stems from her psychological need to believe,) in a different sense than we would call 'psychological' our other friend's beliefs that the earth isn't flat and it will be cheaper to run a Honda Civic than a Mercedes.
Echt is a German word, but it is used in English commonly or I wouldn't know it, not speaking German at all. I'll bet now that it's been called to your attention you'll see it often, all of a sudden. It means something like the most basic, quintessential example of something. I see it isn't in the OED, (well, it's not English,) and I don't have the heart to wake my husband up to ask him for a better definition. |
