Idea Ripper // ArchiveCards: 1555 [Live] | Updated: 2026-10-14
Card #c763IR // #c763Synthesis

I believe that you can reach the point where there is no longer any difference between developing the habit of pretending to believe and developing the habit of believing.

— In our words · Source: Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco)

[Use when]

Use when someone assures you they are 'just playing' with an idea — an ironic conspiracy, a devil's-advocate theory — and you need to name the cost of the rehearsal.

[Why it matters]

Casaubon's sentence is the novel's thesis on irony as a solvent: ironic detachment is not a defense against delusion — it is the antechamber. Practice the gestures of belief long enough and the distinction collapses; the game eats the player.

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