Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Should We Believe Beyond Evide - Papers Online

Should We Believe Beyond Evide


This section provides us with two selections from the essays of William K. Clifford (1845-1879) and William James (1842-1910). Clifford’s essay, The Ethics of Belief, is based on the concept of evidentialism. This concept “holds that we should not accept any statement as true unless we have good evidence to support its truth” (Voices of Wisdom, 346). James wrote his essay, The Will to Believe, as a response to Clifford’s essay where he endorsed a philosophy called pragmatism.
Pragmatism is described in the book as a method for settling philosophical disputes. It is based on the pragmatic theory of truth. This theory says that a “proposition p is true if and ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

which guide human beings into more and more satisfying experiences every time.
Clifford holds that you should not believe any proposition just because it will give you eternal happiness when in fact there is a lack of evidence which should lead you to doubt the proposition. James, on the other hand, gives us three conditions to believe beyond evidence. “First, when you are confronted with what he calls a ‘genuine option’ that cannot be decided on evidential grounds, you have a right to decide the issue according to your ‘passional nature’. Second, when faced with a situation when belief in a fact is necessary for the existence of that fact, you have the right to believe beyond evidence. And finally, in a situation when belief in a true proposition is necessary for getting at the evidence in support of its truth, you are entitled to believe” (Voices of Wisdom, 347). In that last quote James tells us that we are entitled to use our feelings and/or ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login

for evidence that would tell him that the boat was in good sailing condition gives him the guilty status.
The second story is about the people that lived in an island where a certain religion was taught which was based on other beliefs than the mainstream ones. A rumor was spread out that the people teaching this religion used some unfair method to get approval for teaching their religion to children. The rumors said that these teachers were trying to remove the children from their legal guardians and they pushed the issue up to the extent of accusing them of kidnapping. After an investigation by an appointed commission to the issue, based on the evidence presented by the accusers, it ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.


CITE THIS PAGE:

Should We Believe Beyond Evide. (2008, January 7). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-We-Believe-Beyond-Evide/77073
"Should We Believe Beyond Evide." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 7 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-We-Believe-Beyond-Evide/77073>
"Should We Believe Beyond Evide." Essayworld.com. January 7, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-We-Believe-Beyond-Evide/77073.
"Should We Believe Beyond Evide." Essayworld.com. January 7, 2008. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Should-We-Believe-Beyond-Evide/77073.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 1/7/2008 12:16:00 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1696
Pages: 7

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
» You Must Have Rules To Be Free
» Capitalistic Punishment
» Indus Valley Civilization
» The Common Hemingway Protagoni
» Was Macbeth A Traitor
» Macbeth: Good And Evil In One H...
» The Han Dynasty
» Maurice Sendak
» Walkabout
» Aphrodite Versus Athena
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved