The Fixation of Belief

Page 1 of 10 Jon Dorbolo © 1995 Analogue An analogue is an equivalent or counterpart in an analogy. When President Bush said that "Saddam Hussein is another Hitler" he was claiming that the President of contemporary Iraq is the analogue of the Fuhrer of WWII Germany. Whether such comparisons are strong and reasonable is a matter for logical analysis. What matters here is that Peirce is providing an explanation of a difference between doubt and belief by comparing them to the difference between stimulation of a nerve and our responses to conditioned stimuli. If we stimulate the nerves (say by electric shock or tickling) we get an automatic reaction; e.g. contraction of the muscle. Peirce is comparing doubt to such nerve stimulation, we react reflexively to get rid of it. By contrast, he compares belief to "nervous association" in which a reflex reaction is set up by conditioning or habit. In psychology it is well recognized that these are two very different mechanisms for producing behaviors. What matters here is that Peirce is endeavoring to express how different the effects of doubt and belief on us are. It may be tempting to think of doubt and belief as similar, but opposite, psychological states. Peirce seems to be arguing that they are different kinds of states entirely.