ONT Re: Just In Time Logic
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JITL. Note 7
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| [Logic, Truth, and the Settlement of Opinion, MS 179, Winter-Spring 1872] (cont.)
|
| The only justification for reasoning is that it settles doubts,
| and when doubt finally ceases, no matter how, the end of reasoning
| is attained. Let a man resolve never to change his existing opinions,
| let him obstinately shut his eyes to all evidence against them, and if
| his will is strong enough so that he actually does not waver in his faith,
| he has no motive for reasoning at all, and it would be absurd for him to
| do it. That is method number one for attaining the end of reasoning, and
| it is a method which has been much practised and highly approved, especially
| by people whose experience has been that reasoning only leads from doubt to
| doubt. There is no valid objection to this proceedure if it only succeeds.
| It is true it is utterly irrational; that is to say it is foolish from the
| point of view of those who do reason. But to assume that point of view is
| to beg the question. In fact, however, it does not succeed; and the first
| cause of failure is that different people have different opinions and the
| man who sees this begins to feel uncertain. It is therefore desirable to
| produce unanimity of opinion and this gives rise to method number two, which
| is to force people by fire and sword to adopt one belief, to massacre all who
| dissent from it and burn their books. This way of bringing about a catholic
| consent has proved highly successful for centuries in some cases, but it is
| not practicable in our days. A modification of this is method number three,
| to cultivate a public opinion by oratory and preaching and by fostering
| certain sentiments and passions in the minds of the young. This method
| is the most generally successful in our day. The fourth and last method
| is that of reasoning. It will never be adopted when any of the others will
| succeed and it has itself been successful only in certain spheres of thought.
| Nevertheless those who reason think that it must be successful in the end,
| & so it would if all men could reason. There is this to be said in favor
| of it. He who reasons will regard the opinions of the majority of mankind
| with contemptuous indifference; they will not in the least disturb his
| opinions. He will also neglect the beliefs of those who are not informed,
| and among the small residue he may fairly expect some unanimity on many
| questions.
|
| I hope it will now be plain to the reader, that the only rational
| ground for preferring the method of reasoning to the other methods
| is that it fixes belief more surely. A man who proposes to adopt the
| first method may consistently do so simply because he chooses to do so.
| But if we are to decide in favor of reasoning, we ought to do so on
| rational grounds. Now if belief is fixed, no matter how, doubt has
| as a matter of fact ceased, & there is no motive, rational or other,
| for reasoning any more. Any settlement of opinion, therefore, if it
| is full and perfect, is entirely satisfactory and nothing could be
| better. It is the peculiarity of the method of reasoning, that if
| a man thinks that it will not burn him to put his hand in the fire,
| reasoning will not confirm that belief but will change it. This is
| a vast advantage to the mind of a rationalist. But the advocate of
| any one of the first three methods, will be able to say (if either
| of those methods will yield a fixed belief) either that he 'knows'
| by his method that fire will burn, so that reasoning is inferior to
| his method in that it may permit a man for a moment to doubt this, or
| else that he 'knows' that fire will not burn, so that reasoning leads
| all astray. In either case therefore he will conceive that that which
| to the rationalist seems the great advantage of reasoning, to be a great
| fault. Thus the only ground of a fair decision between the methods must
| be that one actually succeeds while the others break up and dissolve.
| Bryant expresses the philosophy of the matter perfectly:
|
| | Truth struck to earth shall rise again
| | The eternal years of God are hers
| | While error ... writhes in pain
| | And dies amidst her worshippers.
|
| C.S. Peirce, CE 3, pp. 15-16.
|
| C.S. Peirce, MS 179, 1872, ["Logic, Truth, Settlement of Opinion"], pp. 14-16 in:
|'Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition, Volume 3, 1872-1878',
| Peirce Edition Project, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 1986.
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