Charles Sanders Peirce · Philosophy

The Fixation of Belief

Peirce’s account of how we settle opinion: inquiry begins in the irritation of doubt and ends in the calm of belief, and he ranks four methods of fixing belief - tenacity, authority, the a priori method, and the method of science - showing why only the last submits to a reality outside our wishes.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned that Peirce treats inquiry as a struggle from the irritation of doubt to the settlement of belief, and grades four methods of fixing belief: tenacity, authority, the a priori method, and science. Explain the four methods and why Peirce judged only the method of science able to settle opinion for good.

Leads to Francis Bacon.

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