Indiana Jones & Pascal's Wager: Crash Course Philosophy #15
Pragmatism, Pascal's Wager, and the Leap of Faith: Navigating Belief and Reason When you were young, did your parents ever tell you to eat your spinach so you’d grow up strong? Or in college, did you set your clock ahead by ten minutes to trick yourself into being on time? These are examples of what philosophers call "useful fictions"—things we choose to believe because they make our lives easier or better in some way. This concept lies at the heart of pragmatism , a philosophical movement that values beliefs not for their truth but for their practical benefits. The Pragmatic Approach to Belief Pragmatism encourages us to focus less on whether a belief is true and more on whether it’s useful. For instance, does it really matter if spinach is the key to muscle growth? If believing that it is convinces you to eat more greens and improve your health, then it’s a belief worth having, according to the pragmatist. This way of thinking has deep roots in American philosophy, wi