In Feelings of Believing: Psychology, History, Phenomenology, Ryan Hickerson demonstrates that philosophers as diverse as Hume, Descartes, Husserl, and William James all treated believing as feeling. He argues that doxastic sentimentalism, therefore, is considerably more central to modern epistemology than philosophers have recognized. When the empirical psychology of overconfidence and attention is brought to bear on the history of philosophy and the phenomenology of believing, all point toward belief as fundamentally affective. Understanding believing as feeling has the potential to make us better believers, both by encouraging suspicion of unexamined certainties and by focusing attention on credulity. Hickerson argues that believing is typically felt but not given attention by the believer, and he suggests that virtuous believers are those who pay careful attention to their own sentiments-- who attempt to raise their beliefs to the level of judgments. 

"This groundbreaking book sets out to assess the prospects for doxastic sentimentalism??epistemologically, psychologically, phenomenologically, and historically. Nuanced, subtle, and trenchantly argued, Hickerson?s book breaks new ground in exploring the rich and complex nexus of relationships between cognition and sentiment."? Wayne Martin, University of Essex"Hickerson's Feelings of Believing is an ambitious work, and it fulfills these ambitions. It is historically sensitive, but with a modernizing eye, while also being empirically informed. It will appeal to a wide variety of scholars."? Hsueh Qu, National University of Singapore"In this richly researched and carefully argued book, Ryan Hickerson draws upon the history of philosophy, contemporary empirical research, and robust phenomenological insights to defend both the prevalence and the plausibility of doxastic sentimentalism?the view that feeling is necessary for belief. It is mandatory reading for those interested in the psychology, epistemology, and phenomenology of belief."? Walter Hopp, Boston University"Is there a characteristic feeling of believing? In this provocative and illuminating book, Hickerson retrieves a largely overlooked yet fruitful tradition of 'doxastic sentimentalism'. The result is an alternative history of modern epistemology that anyone thinking seriously about the nature of belief would benefit from."? Joseph Schear, University of Oxford

Ryan Hickerson, PhD, teaches philosophy at Western Oregon University.