How did Peirce understand beliefs as habits of action?

For Charles Sanders Peirce, the founder of pragmatism, beliefs are fundamentally linked to the resolution of inquiry. Peirce viewed thought as a process triggered by doubt—a state where habitual actions are blocked or confused, causing irritation and irresolution.1

In this framework, a belief serves as a state of stability and satisfaction that allows for unobstructed conduct. Peirce understood beliefs as habits of action because they define how an individual is prepared to act under specific circumstances. To clarify the meaning of a concept or belief, he proposed that one must consider the practical effects or consequences that the object of that conception might have. For instance, defining an object as "hard" is equivalent to the habit of expecting that it will not be scratched by most substances if one were to perform the operation of scratching it.1

Ultimately, for Peirce, the meaning of a belief is found in these conditional, experimental outcomes, making belief a guide for future conduct rather than a static mental state.1