Believe Quote by Louis Menand
““If behaving as though we had free will or God exists gets us results we want, we will not only come to believe those things; they will be, pragmatically, true.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Metaphysical Club, Louis Menand, 2001
Believing in free will or God can become pragmatically true if it yields desired outcomes.
In simple terms: Belief can become practical truth when useful.
Key Takeaway
Use belief as a tool, not a dogma.
Themes
belief
pragmatism
psychology
Mood
thoughtful
analytical
Type
philosophical
motivational
When to use this quote
- personal goals
- leadership
- ethical decision making
Key Concepts
self-fulfilling prophecy
instrumental rationality
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you use belief to achieve goals?
- When does belief become harmful?
A Different Perspective
May lead to self‑deception if evidence is ignored.
![“[According to Holmes], ‘Every year if not every day we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge. While that experiment is part of our system I think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and…” quote by Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/656/louis-menand-8583_death_according-to-holmes-every-year-if-not-ev_403601.jpg)
