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4
The Negative Side:
Lack of Trust, Implicit Trust,
Mistrust, Doubts and Diffidence
In this chapter we analyze the theory of lack of trust, mistrust, diffidence, and the nature of
pessimism and optimism in 'giving credit' and entrusting, and also the implicit forms of trust,
not based on explicit evaluations and specific beliefs (putting aside trust as feeling and affect -
see Chapter 5). These are fundamental issues, not to be theoretically simplified or just reduced
to a trivial technical trick.
4.1 From Lack of Trust to Diffidence: Not Simply a Matter of Degree
Between full trust and absolute mistrust there is not just a difference of quantity and a
continuum from
0
(
complete lack of trust
)to
1
(
full trust
) (see Figure 4.1); like for scholars
just considering 'trust' as subjective probability of a favorable event.
Neither is it a value between
1
; where
0
would be the simple lack of trust. As already argued by Ulmann-Margalit (Ulmann-Margalit,
2001), however, without a complete and formal systematization of the issue -
trust and its
negative counterparts are qualitatively different mental states
.
There exist diverse forms and kinds of lack of trust, which are not just a matter of 'degree'
or 'intensity', but must be analyzed in their specific ingredients.
1
Actually we have to characterize
five
different states (
seven
, if we consider also 'diffidence'
and '(not)giving credit') and complicated relations of conceptual or extensional inclusion or
exclusion among them.
−
1
(negative 'trust', the complete mistrust) and
+
1
Also because trust is in part based on the judgments about features and 'qualities', on evaluations. As beliefs -
as we saw - they can have a 'degree' (the strength of subjective certainty), but as qualities or 'signals' not all of them
are 'gradable': for example, 'PhD' or 'married' or 'nurse'.
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