--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If behaving as though we had free will or…" description: "\"“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, pragmatical..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png" --- # If behaving as though we had free will or God exists gets… ![“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.” quote by Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png) > ““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.”” [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Believe Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-things/) [Come Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-believe-922009/) [God exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-exists/) [Pragmatically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatically-2156737/) [Pragmatically True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatically-true-5499215/) ## Related quotes > [Praise or damn as you please, but do so rather flatly, pragmatically, with cunning attention to annoying or gratifying details. Be yourself. Be unique.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/praise-or-damn-as-you-please-but-do-so-rather-flatly-pragmatically/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-it-is-impossible-to-please-god-without-faith-anyone-who-wants-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We've been invited to come and believe the Unbelievable, receive the Inconceivable, and see beyond our wildest imaginations... Lord, we come with great expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-curtis-chapman/we-ve-been-invited-to-come-and-believe-the-unbelievable-receive-the/) [Steven Curtis Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-curtis-chapman/) > [For if the world treats you well, Sir, you come to believe you are deserving of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/for-if-the-world-treats-you-well-sir-you-come-to-believe-you-are-2/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“I have come to believe that when we live in a way that requires miracles, we will start to see them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/i-have-come-to-believe-that-when-we-live-in-a-way-that-requires/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“It is not an easy thing to alter the trajectory of your life. People have expectations on your behalf. You come to believe them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/it-is-not-an-easy-thing-to-alter-the-trajectory-of-your-life-people/) [Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/) > [Good things come to those who believe, Better things come to those who wait and the Best things come to those who don't give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/good-things-come-to-those-who-believe-better-things-come-to-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Africa, have you seen it? No? Then is it truly there?...And the past, did it happen? And the future, will it come? Believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/africa-have-you-seen-it-no-then-is-it-truly-there-and-the-past-did-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Where I come from we believe in an eye for an eye. That's what we do. That's just the way it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-crawford/where-i-come-from-we-believe-in-an-eye-for-an-eye-that-s-what-we-do/) [Terence Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-crawford/) > [And the dangerous thing about excuses is that if we recite them enough times, we actually come to believe they are true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s/and-the-dangerous-thing-about-excuses-is-that-if-we-recite-them/) [Robin S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s/) > [If we say something often enough, we come to believe it. We don't usually delude others until after we have first deluded ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/if-we-say-something-often-enough-we-come-to-believe-it-we-don-t/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [“We were perhaps not so unlovable as we had come to believe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-were-perhaps-not-so-unlovable-as-we-had-come-to-believe/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/if-you-repeat-a-lie-often-enough-people-will-believe-it-and-you-will/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [“honor will come to you who believe, but for the unbelieving,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honor-will-come-to-you-who-believe-but-for-the-unbelieving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our problems come not from what we believe, but from how we believe in what we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stone/our-problems-come-not-from-what-we-believe-but-from-how-we-believe-in/) [Craig Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stone/) ## More by Louis Menand > [“For Peirce, inquiry is always communal—it is the median of many observations that gives the position of the star—and the last analysis really is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/for-peirce-inquiry-is-always-communal-it-is-the-median-of-many/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [If time is a staircase, reality is a Slinky. Decades can be parsed. Television, frequently accused of destabilizing life, is actually what stitches the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/if-time-is-a-staircase-reality-is-a-slinky-decades-can-be-parsed/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Basically what you want in any profession - I would say the same thing if I were a lawyer or a doctor - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/basically-what-you-want-in-any-profession-i-would-say-the-same-thing/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [“In modern societies, the reproduction of custom is no longer understood to be one of the chief purposes of existence, and the ends of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/in-modern-societies-the-reproduction-of-custom-is-no-longer/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [One of the functions of literary criticism, or reviewing, generally - and I, most of my reviews actually are not about literature - but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/one-of-the-functions-of-literary-criticism-or-reviewing-generally-and/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [You have to have students wanting to take the courses, otherwise you're not going, they're not going to be very effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/you-have-to-have-students-wanting-to-take-the-courses-otherwise-you/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [“We do not (on Holmes’s reasoning) permit the free expression of ideas because some individual may have the right one. No individual alone can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/we-do-not-on-holmes-s-reasoning-permit-the-free-expression-of-ideas/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Literature is being taught as though it were only political medicine or political poison-a view that is not only illiberal but illiterate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/literature-is-being-taught-as-though-it-were-only-political-medicine/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [ “\[According to Holmes\], ‘Every year if not every day we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge. While that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/according-to-holmes-every-year-if-not-every-day-we-have-to-wager-our/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [It's difficult to get a job and people stay in school longer because they're employed as teaching assistants or instructors by their schools, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/it-s-difficult-to-get-a-job-and-people-stay-in-school-longer-because/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Just in higher education alone, more people go to college now, by enormous amounts, than went to college in the '50's and '60's. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/just-in-higher-education-alone-more-people-go-to-college-now-by/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Obviously input is helpful to faculty in trying to come up with a curriculum, but ultimately it's the faculty's job to know what students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/obviously-input-is-helpful-to-faculty-in-trying-to-come-up-with-a/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Universities are set up to get people to work together by having them disagree with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/universities-are-set-up-to-get-people-to-work-together-by-having-them/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [ “What \[Peirce\] meant was that since nature evolves by chance variation, then the laws of nature must evolve by chance variation as well. Variations… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/what-peirce-meant-was-that-since-nature-evolves-by-chance-variation/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic. Never, btw, ask that androgynous paper clip anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/never-be-afraid-to-try-something-new-remember-amateurs-built-the-ark/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) [Explore all 79 Louis Menand quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louis Menand" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-or-god-exists-gets-us-results/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-or-god-exists-gets-us-results/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/louis-menand-8583_believe_if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-o_692490.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If behaving as though we had free will or God exists gets us results we want, we will not only come to…” — Louis Menand", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Louis Menand", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If behaving as though we had...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-or-god-exists-gets-us-results/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/if-behaving-as-though-we-had-free-will-or-god-exists-gets-us-results/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```