The intransitive verb 'believe'

Question

The X-Files was converted into a comic book series written during the show's third and fourth seasons. The initial comic books were written solely by Stefan Petrucha. According to Petrucha, there were three types of stories: "those that dealt with the characters, those that dealt with the conspiracy, and the monster-of-the-week sort of stuff".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files#cite_note-comix-164 Petrucha cited that latter as the easiest to write. Petrucha saw Scully as a "scientist […] with real world faith", and that the difference between [Mulder and Scully] is not that Mulder believes and Scully doesn't; it's more a difference in procedure."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files#cite_note-comix-164 In this manner, Mulder's viewpoint was often written to be just as valid as Scully's, and Scully's science was often portrayed to be just as convincing as Mulder's more outlandish ideas.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_X-Files#cite_note-comix-164I'd like to know why there aren't objects of "believes"es.Thank you in advance for your help.

Deadrat · Accepted Answer

I'm proud to say that I had to look this up.  Muldur believes in nonsense -- the paranormal, alien visitors to earth, and so on.  Scully is a skeptic and demands scientific evidence before belief.  The reviewer has left out the object of the belief, figuring that people familiar with the TV show and comic book series would understand the tension between the two characters about which explanations to accept and which to reject.

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, deadrat, for your elaborate answer.

What do you mean by "some explanations to accept/ reject about the tension between the two characters"?

Deadrat · Answer

Too elaborate, perhaps? Sorry. I'm at a disadvantage here because I've never watched the show or read the comic book.

I'm given to understand that Muldur accepts nonsense explanations (e.g., he believes in the paranormal) while Scully accepts only scientific explanations. So the characters differ in what explanations they accept or reject when confronted with their script's mysteries. So Muldur is a believer in things beyond the rational; Scully believes only in the rational. Their beliefs pull them in opposite directions, hence my use of tension between them. Your paragraph says that this is the wrong way to look at it. The two are not separated by their differing beliefs but rather by their different investigative procedures.

I hope that makes more sense. English has the idiom "It's more X than Y" or "It's more a matter of X than Y" to declare which explanation is better.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

park sang joonMulder believes

Mulder is a believer. Some people believe in things - Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, extra-sensory perception, telepathic abilities, extra-terrestrial aliens, etc.

Scully is not a believer. Some people do not believe in anything until there is proof and evidence of it being factually "true."

Park sang joon · Answer

Thank you, AlpheccaStars, for your sincere concern.

Then, I'd like to know whether you say that "believe" is the intransitive verb in my example?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

park sang joonThen, I'd like to know whether you say that "believe" is the intransitive verb in my example?

Yes. "believe" can be used with or without an object.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/believe?r=66

See entries #1 and #2.

The intransitive verb 'believe'

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