(Note: I wrote this blog post a while back, then wrote a second on Peirce. As far as explication goes, this briefer, earlier post is better than the later one.)
Charles Sanders Peirce, credited by William James as the founder of Pragmatism (a term Peirce hated), is my favorite writer who does not have recordings on Librivox.While I'm not usually enamored with sound bites, I like the statement below from Peirce:
“What is more wholesome than any particular belief is integrity of belief.”
While this quotation might make some think Peirce is downplaying the value of belief, he's actually asking us to think about 1) whether our beliefs are consistent with the evidence available to us; are we choosing to ignore some evidence because that evidence upsets the comfort of our beliefs? 2) how internally consistent our beliefs are; do individual beliefs fit into a harmonious whole? Have we so compartmentalized our thoughts that various beliefs contradict each other? and 3) how our beliefs affect our actions; do our actions reflect the beliefs we claim? do our beliefs lead us to actions that those beliefs suggest we should take? 4) how convenient our beliefs are; do we hold certain beliefs because they benefit us socially, financially, politically?
Whose beliefs wouldn't past the criteria of integrity?
Fundamentalist Christians who called for a Christian in the White House for multiple elections, then voted for Donald Trump.
The Democratic National Convention, that supports free elections, then helps Hillary Clinton beat Bernie Sanders behind the scenes.
The members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who apparently have not read 1st Corinthians, Chapter Thirteen.
State Republican conventions, whose members give lip service to "all men (sic) created equal," yet continue supporting voter ID laws designed to remove minorities from the election rolls.
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