What Is Clifford's Position Concerning Belief

It is said that man, to survive, has always needed something or some belief to hold on; be it science, religion or magic. Man without a belief lacks hope (Walker, 1997). Lack of hope makes a man vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances. To avoid this vulnerability man has been holding onto different belief systems.

The argument presented by William James in “The Will to Believe” covers theistic beliefs and also includes various philosophical issues as well as matters of practical life. James's primary concern is to argue that Clifford's Rule is irrational. According to Clifford's Rule, one should avoid error at all costs and ultimately risk the loss of certain truths. James claims that Clifford's Rule is just one intellectual strategy and then makes an argument to seek truth by any means available, even at the risk of error or being completely false. James is not arguing against conforming one's belief to the evidence. Nor is he arguing against the importance of evidence. His argument is against withholding beliefs whenever there is little evidence,

In Kelly James Clark’s Article “Without Evidence or Argument”, Clark argues that belief in God, does not require the support of evidence or argument in order for it to be rational. Clark’s argument is against W.K. Clifford’s article “The Ethics of Belief”, in which Clifford claims that everything must be believed only on the basis of sufficient evidence (139). Throughout Kelly Clark’s article he states many things that support his conclusion of belief without evidence or argument, however, my paper will only discuss what Clark says on p.139 starting with the paragraph “The first problem with Clifford’s…” and the following paragraph, ending with the words “...to see why.”

The topic of knowledge and belief has been a subject of investigation and a primary field in philosophical research for centuries. Whether it was Aristotle or Descartes, multiple ideas on knowledge and belief arise, such as the epistemological theories of foundationalism or coherentism, which provide philosophical explanations to this debate. For the sake of this essay, and in my own opinion, knowledge should be distinguished from belief. Everyone is subject to different types of beliefs based on upbringing, however knowledge of basic items is universal, therefore it immediately becomes apparent that there is a clear distinction between the two concepts.

The information is not presented accurately in the essay. Elbow explains this situation in a way that presents the believing game to only his advantage. The scenario could be less biased if Elbow had presented more than just one example of how people experience the believing game in real life. The essay is lacking any other accounts other than the author himself.

In the listening passage, the professor describes three arguments against the theory showed in the listening passage. First, no evidence was found in the Croatan Island. It is reasonable that some stuffs are left if a group

Edmund Gettier’s argument that justified true belief is not a sufficient definition for knowledge is correct. There are many scenarios in which the conditions for justified true belief are met but cannot be said to qualify as knowledge; therefore justified true belief is not a sufficient definition for knowledge.

In the pages of the bible one can find an early answer to an ancient debate. Jesus appears before Thomas whom had doubted Jesus’s existence and says, “Because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are they who do not see, and yet believed.”(John 20:29). Jesus reveres those who were able to accept his existence without proof, while scorning Thomas for his doubt. The struggle between belief and doubt is seen throughout the course of history. The novel A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving also attempts to address the battle between these seemingly mutually exclusive principles. The novel centers around a boy named Owen Meany, who believes his future is predetermined for him by God. The protagonist is a man named John Wheelwright, who

James Patterson states many of his beliefs and facts throughout his book on why he believes the time after the Golden Age was the best of time not only economically but also personally. There were improvements made in society during the 1970s such as technological advances, extended civil rights to various groups including minorities, women, disabled individuals and the elderly (Patterson 14-15). Many changes pertaining to African Americans were present for the first time in history throughout the United States. A few of these changes included balance in race in the school system, desegregation, and affirmative action. Ultimately this eventually included Native Americans and other minorities as well (Patterson 20-24). In 2000, Americans lived

William James (1897), on the other hand, attempts to define the permissible cases in which it is intellectually respectable to believe without sufficient evidence. James (1897) begins by providing three criterion for judging beliefs: either beliefs are 1) living or dead; 2) forced or avoidable; or 3) momentous or trivial.

The Will to Believe is a lecture that was presented by William James in 1896, it specifically defends that one can choose to believe in a religion without prior evidence of its truth. William James was a well-distinguished philosopher as well as a psychologist and a physician. He with a few other philosophers like Charles sanders Pierce and John Dewey were fundamental in establishing modern philosophy in America and are thought to be the founding fathers of pragmatism.

Throughout the Gospel of John the term “belief” is used in multiple ways for different reasons. Belief is employed as a means to give the reader motivation to believe in Jesus and God which will bring them to eternal glory and happiness. This belief can be rewarded with eternal life, as well as a personal connection to Jesus Christ. God can also be seen and believed in if one only believes in Jesus and allows for a wholesome connection to the Father and Son. In addition to beginning to understand the use of “belief” in the Gospel of John, one must correctly infer from his words and deduce their meaning.

Since the 19th century, William Clifford and William James have been the foremost religious theorist and have attempted to answer significant creation and theological mysteries. However, Clifford and James have varying views on the belief debate, each formulating a rational argument of what the basis for belief should be. Clifford’s, Ethics of Belief and James’ The Will to Believe outline their respective arguments which are vastly similar and but have marked differences. Both articles will be examined for these similarities and difference and stated within this paper.

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.

supported by the facts, that’s fine. If it isn’t, and you aren’t certain why the