On the nature of belief and the social significance of purely epistemic evaluation

In Belief as Emotion (2025), Miriam Schleifer McCormick presents an ontological view about the nature of belief intertwined with a pragmatist view about the norms of belief. Regarding the former view (that belief is an emotion), I argue that it cannot explain the commitment that is characteristic of belief. At best, it explains the commitment characteristic of credence. Regarding her normative view, I argue that pragmatism about the norms of belief fails to give us a fully nuanced picture of how we should relate to each other in cases of deep disagreement. To get such a picture, we must acknowledge the interpersonal significance of purely epistemic evaluation.