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How did Charles Sanders Peirce describe the relationship between doubt and inquiry?
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Pragmatism
Charles Sanders Peirce, 1891.
Charles Sanders Peirce described the relationship between doubt and inquiry as a functional process driven by the need to restore stability to thought.1
According to Peirce, doubt is a state of irritation and irresolution that occurs when our habitual actions are blocked or confused. Inquiry is the process of thought that arises from this state of doubt, with the ultimate goal of reaching a state of belief. Belief represents a form of stability and satisfaction that allows for unobstructed conduct.1
In this framework, inquiry serves as the mechanism by which we move from the discomfort of doubt toward the resolution of belief, which Peirce viewed as the primary function of scientific thought.1