I used to wonder why people went to war over religion. So what if you bow to the elephant with 17 heads, and I worship a burning bush? Why does anyone care? But that was before I read Charles Peirce’s “Fixation Of Belief.” In it he argues being uncertain, i.e., having a doubt, is a kind of discomfort or dissatisfaction. It’s unpleasant and irritating not to know, and just like an itch calls out for a scratch, a doubt calls out for its own kind of relief. That relief comes in the form of a belief.
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Belief
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I used to wonder why people went to war over religion. So what if you bow to the elephant with 17 heads, and I worship a burning bush? Why does anyone care? But that was before I read Charles Peirce’s “Fixation Of Belief.” In it he argues being uncertain, i.e., having a doubt, is a kind of discomfort or dissatisfaction. It’s unpleasant and irritating not to know, and just like an itch calls out for a scratch, a doubt calls out for its own kind of relief. That relief comes in the form of a belief.