Should We Cultivate A "Will to Believe"?
William James coined the phrase “the will to believe” to describe how our belief in something can make it true. That may sound weird, but it’s a hallmark idea of pragmatism, which says that something is true if it works, rather than if it is objectively the case.
In defense of pragmatism we can say that it allows us to bracket whether something like optimism or self-confidence is justified from first principles and instead focus on whether it helps us be better versions of ourselves (however we define it).
But pragmatism also smacks of relativism, and can often become a cynical exploit. If truth is what I say it is, what’s stopping me from becoming an ego-maniac who ignores or dismisses any evidence telling me I'm wrong or need to change? What lyric poets like Whitman and thinkers like Emerson and Nietzsche celebrate as a virtue, can, in other contexts, become vicious.
How do you decide when to cultivate a will to believe, and when to change your belief on the arrival of new evidence?
P.S.—Here’s a new poem I published in Tablet:
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