Brilliant essay! Enjoyed it immensely. I cannot disagree with a word you said. If we lived near one another I would greatly enjoy discussing these matters with you.
If you want the classic (and all time best) account of these matters, read David Hume’s “An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.”(18th century) For the postmodern perversion of them read William James’ address “The Will to Believe.”(1896)