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Through an analysis of the psychological foundations of faith and the quest for knowledge, this paper shows how belief, which comes first, is what anchors the child’s sense of being and how the quest to know will begin with belief’s “collapse.” The concept of “symbolic points of certainty” (Piera Aulagnier), or the idea that some elements are certain because the social structure ensures them, helps to show how, in “traditional” societies, subjective integration is ensured by the group, especially through the institution of filiation and the ritualized path to adulthood. In our hypermodern society, the loss of this guarantee fosters a search for “proof,” which must be continuously found. This scientific illusion leads to more fragile subjectivities, increasing the risk of mastery.