Belief in Psyontology

Philosophers' Imprint, 2020, 20(11): 1–27

Which is more fundamental, full belief or partial belief? I argue that neither is, ontologically speaking. A survey of some relevant cognitive psychology supports a dualist ontology instead. Beliefs come in two kinds, categorical and graded, with neither kind more fundamental than the other. In particular, the graded kind is no more fundamental. When we discuss belief in on/off terms, we are not speaking coarsely or informally about states that are ultimately credal.