Need To Know

Why is it that some people cling to their beliefs like lifeboats, while others treat ideas like tools, swapping them out when they no longer work? In the spiritual and philosophical world, this difference often boils down to a tension between dogmatism and pragmatism.

Dogmatism is the firm, often inflexible belief in absolute truths. It’s the “this is how it is, and that’s final” mindset. Pragmatism, on the other hand, is about what works — truth is what helps us live, love, and adapt better to reality. It’s more of a “let’s try this and see where it leads” way of thinking.

For religious young people trying to find their way in an uncertain world, this tension can feel deeply personal. Is faith about holding to unshakable truths no matter what, or is it about growing, learning, and being willing to change when needed? Should we fear doubt — or embrace it?

These are not just abstract questions. They affect how we handle disagreements, how we make moral choices, how we relate to tradition, and how we make sense of pain, joy, and meaning in our lives.

This essay invites you into a conversation with great minds — from Immanuel Kant and William James to Reinhold Niebuhr and Cornel West — about how to navigate the space between rigid conviction and open-ended seeking. We’ll explore how religious faith can thrive not despite uncertainty, but because of it.

What To Do

Here are some guiding ideas to help you live thoughtfully between dogmatism and pragmatism:

1. Get Curious About Your Own Certainties

Ask yourself: What do I believe for sure—and why? Is it because it’s been proven, or because it’s comforting? Challenge your assumptions with curiosity, not fear.

2. Try Thinking in Terms of Consequences

James suggested asking: What practical difference would this belief make if it were true? This isn’t about abandoning deep beliefs but seeing how they play out in real life.

3. Use Doubt as a Tool, Not an Enemy

Kant warned against the “dogmatic slumber” of uncritical belief. Faith becomes more powerful when it passes through doubt and emerges tested and conscious.

4. Dialogue, Don’t Debate

Hans-George Gadamer argued that understanding comes from dialogue, not just logic. Instead of trying to win arguments, enter conversations where you’re open to change.

5. Look for Truth in Action, Not Just in Ideas

John Dewey believed that truth evolves through experience. Ask: How does this belief help me become more compassionate, just, or wise?

6. Be Humble About What You Know

Karl Popper, Thomas Kuhn, and Richard Rorty each showed that even science and reason are not infallible. If the greatest minds can be wrong, so can we. That’s not weakness—that’s human.

Key Points

1. Kant and the Danger of Unquestioned Belief

Immanuel Kant shook the foundations of dogmatic metaphysics by calling for a “critique of pure reason.” He didn’t reject belief but said we must question our grounds for it. For Kant, faith must live with the tension between reason and mystery.

2. Hume’s Skepticism and the Limits of Reason

David Hume showed how much of what we think we know is really just habit. His radical skepticism—questioning even causality—paved the way for thinkers to accept uncertainty not as failure but as part of the human condition.

3. Peirce, James, and Dewey: The Birth of Pragmatism

The American pragmatists offered a different path. Charles Peirce wrote about the “fixation of belief”—how we settle on what we think is true—and warned against methods based on authority or stubbornness. James argued that truth is what works in our lives. Dewey applied this to democracy, education, and ethics: what matters is how ideas help us solve problems together.

4. Theologians on Faith Beyond Dogma

Paul Tillich defined faith not as clinging to creeds, but as one’s “ultimate concern”—something lived rather than asserted. Niebuhr urged humility, warning that religious dogmatism can mask pride. For both, faith is not certainty, but courageous engagement with life’s uncertainties.

5. Popper and Kuhn on Science as Anti-Dogma

Popper famously argued that real science is not about proving things, but about falsifying them—testing beliefs and discarding what doesn’t hold. Kuhn added that even science has its “paradigms,” which feel like dogma until a revolution sweeps them aside. Both showed that truth is not final but always evolving.

6. Rorty, West, and the Ethics of Conversation

Richard Rorty claimed we should give up the dream of absolute objectivity. Instead, we should focus on building communities through shared language and stories. West expanded this into politics and ethics: truth emerges from solidarity, struggle, and love — not fixed formulas.

7. Dogmatism Feels Safe—but at What Cost?

Dogmatism offers security. But it can close us off from real growth. Whether in religion or politics, it can lead to judgmentalism, exclusion, or even violence. Pragmatism reminds us that truth, to be relevant, must meet life on its own changing terms.

Yet, a few items seem to be unchanging for humans: our biological life is finite (we all will die), and our embodied disposition is largely one of male or female, based on biological characteristics at birth.

MacIntyre criticizes modern liberal pragmatism for lacking moral coherence and advocates virtue-based ethics rooted in narrative traditions, while Martha Nussbaum advocates for a nuanced, compassionate humanism.

Learn More

To go deeper, here are some broader themes and frameworks worth exploring:

• The Nature of Belief – What counts as belief? How is it different from knowledge or opinion?
• Hermeneutics – Especially Gadamer’s idea that meaning emerges through dialogue and interpretation.
• Postmodernism – While controversial, postmodern thinkers challenge grand narratives and promote pluralism over dogma.
• Liberation Theology – A movement, controversial as well, that grounds faith not in abstract dogma but in the lived experience of the oppressed.
• Virtue Ethics – From Aristotle to MacIntyre, this approach focuses on becoming good people rather than following rules or outcomes.
• The Limits of Language – Ludwig Wittgenstein and others question whether what we say can ever fully capture truth.

Links & Books

Here are some accessible resources to continue your journey:

📚 Books

• Pragmatism – William James
• The Quest for Certainty – John Dewey
• The Dynamics of Faith – Paul Tillich
• Truth and Method – Hans-Georg Gadamer
• The Open Society and Its Enemies – Karl Popper
• The American Evasion of Philosophy – Cornel West
• After Virtue – Alasdair MacIntyre

🌐 Articles & Essays

• “The Fixation of Belief” – Charles S. Peirce (short, philosophical essay)
• “Faith” – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• “Why Belief Is Not the Same as Faith” – Psyche.co
• “The Ethics of Uncertainty” – Aeon.co

🎧 Podcasts & Videos

• The Partially Examined Life (episodes on pragmatism and religious belief)
• Philosophy Bites – Short interviews with leading philosophers
• YouTube: “William James: What Pragmatism Is” – Philosophy Overdose channel