Concept of affirmation - Definition

Affirmation is the action and the effect of affirming, regular verb of first conjugation, that originated etymologically in the Latin "affirmare", integrated the term by the prefix "ad" that is equivalent to the preposition "towards", the adjective "Firmus", in the sense of "firm", but the suffix of verbal termination, "ar".An affirmation is an expression, verbal or written, which denotes certainty and conviction, about the truth of the above, which is indubitable , regardless of objective certainty.

However, the statements may be false, when certainty has been manifested, but inwardly you do not believe in it, because there are serious doubts, or because it is known to be a lie.

The affirmations can be affirmative, such as: "I affirm that this government is the best in the history of our country", but they can also be negative: "I affirm that they have never given me an answer to my request" or " I affirm that I have not seen who killed my nephew.”

Affirmations may eventually be denied by the person who exposed them, for he may realize that he was wrong, and then affirm, otherwise, by example: “I affirmed that communism was the regime that would take the world out of misery, but today, I no longer dare to affirm such a thing.” Many times it is the passage of time that collapses certain statements: “In the Middle Ages it was claimed that diseases were the fruit of sin, but by the work of Humanism and the decline of obscurantism, that claim was scientifically denied.”

Weak statements are mere opinions: "It seems to me that it will rain today" or "I think my business is going to prosper." Also the statement may consist simply of saying yes or no, when someone is questioned about certain facts, whose knowledge is supposed, as the case of being questioned as a witness before a court.In these cases the adverbs of affirmation are used, which in Spanish are “yes”, “certainly”, “effectively”, etc.But the adverb of Denial "no" can also be used to state that it is not true what is stated: "The witness with a yes, I affirm that the accused was at the scene of the crime" or "The witness, questioned if he noticed the malicious maneuver, responded stating no.”

When it is gestural, or by some action of expressing that the affirmation of another is shared, for example, with a bow of the head, or raising the hand, or voting, one speaks generally of adhesion.