EPISTEMOLOGY famous of the series are the two first articles, ‘The Fixation of Belief ’ and ‘How to Make our Ideas Clear’ (CP 5.358 ff., 388 ff.) In the first essay Peirce observes that inquiry always originates in doubt, and ends in belief The irritation of doubt is the only immediate motive for the struggle to obtain belief It is certainly best for us that our beliefs should be such as may truly guide our actions so as to satisfy our desires; and this reflection will make us reject any belief that does not seem to have been so formed as to insure this result But it will only so by creating a doubt in the place of that belief With the doubt, therefore, the struggle begins, and with the cessation of doubt it ends Hence, the sole object of inquiry is the settlement of opinion (EWP 126) In order to settle our opinions and fix our beliefs, Peirce says, four different methods are commonly used They are, he tells us, the method of tenacity, the method of authority, the a priori method, and the scientific method We may take a proposition and repeat it to ourselves, dwelling on all that supports it and turning away from anything that might disturb it Thus, some people read only newspapers that confirm their political beliefs, and a religious person may say ‘Oh, I could not believe so-and-so, because I should be wretched if I did’ This is the method of tenacity, and it has the advantage of providing comfort and peace of mind It may be true, Peirce says, that death is annihilation, but a man who believes he will go straight to heaven when he dies ‘has a cheap pleasure that will not be followed by the least disappointment’ The problem you meet if you adopt the method of tenacity is that you may find your beliefs in conflict with those of other equally tenacious believers The remedy for this is provided by the second method, that of authority ‘Let an institution be created that shall have for its object to keep correct doctrines before the attention of the people, to reiterate them perpetually, and to teach them to the young; having at the same time power to prevent contrary doctrines from being taught, advocated, or expressed.’ This method had been most perfectly practised in Rome, from the days of Numa Pompilius to Pio Nono, but throughout the world, from Egypt to Siam, it has left majestic relics in stone of a sublimity comparable to the greatest works of nature There are two disadvantages to the method of authority First, it is always accompanied by cruelty If the burning and massacre of heretics is frowned 151