The Fixation of Belief, Charles S. Peirce, Popular Science Monthly, November 1877.
http://www.peirce.org/writings/p107.html I was going to paraphrase another part of this, but looking at it again I realize my feeble bowdlerization wouldn't do it justice. [Emphasis added] Let the will of the state act, then, instead of that of the individual. Let an institution be created which shall have for its object to keep correct doctrines before the attention of the people, to reiterate them perpetually, and to teach them to the young; having at the same time power to prevent contrary doctrines from being taught, advocated, or expressed. Let all possible causes of a change of mind be removed from men's apprehensions. Let them be kept ignorant, lest they should learn of some reason to think otherwise than they do. Let their passions be enlisted, so that they may regard private and unusual opinions with hatred and horror. Then, let all men who reject the established belief be terrified into silence. Let the people turn out and tar-and-feather such men, or let inquisitions be made into the manner of thinking of suspected persons, and when they are found guilty of forbidden beliefs, let them be subjected to some signal punishment.* When complete agreement could not otherwise be reached, a general massacre of all who have not thought in a certain way has proved a very effective means of settling opinion in a country.* If the power to do this be wanting, let a list of opinions be drawn up, to which no man of the least independence of thought can assent, and let the faithful be required to accept all these propositions, in order to segregate them as radically as possible from the influence of the rest of the world. This isn't Peirce's solution to the question. And it doesn't really matter whether you let the religious fringe, the religious moderates, the rationalists, or the state enforce correct doctrines, the doctrines are never completely correct, and you always get unfortunate errors in the enforcement. -- rec --
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