How did Charles Sanders Peirce explain the role of belief in resolving doubt?

For Charles Sanders Peirce, the process of inquiry is fundamentally driven by the transition from doubt to belief. He defined doubt as a state of irritation and irresolution in which habitual actions are blocked or confused. In contrast, belief is a state of stability and satisfaction that allows for unobstructed conduct.1

Peirce viewed beliefs as essentially "habits of action". When an individual encounters doubt, they engage in inquiry to resolve that state and return to a settled habit. The role of belief in this process is to provide the necessary foundation for intelligent conduct; by establishing true beliefs, one achieves a state of resolution.21

Peirce argued that the scientific method is the most effective way to fix these beliefs. Through this method, ideas are clarified by examining the sensible effects of their objects and adjusting habits of action to those effects. Ultimately, he posited that a belief is true if, through continuous scientific inquiry by a community of investigators, assent to that belief would increase and dissent would decrease "in the infinite long run".21