[MD] humpty dumpty

[ARLO JAMES BENSINGER JR]

[Marsha]
Which direction we take depends on what? 

[Arlo]
You may want to read Charles Peirce's Essay "The Fixation of Belief", it is a well-argued pragmatist (or pragmaticist, to use Peirce's slight differentiation) understanding of how beliefs come to be held, what it takes for them to recognized as "in need of reevaluation" and the various methods used for moving back from 'doubt' to 'belief'. Its available in full online here:

http://www.peirce.org/writings/p107.html