William James's Argument About Beliefs

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.

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.

James appears to be using limited cross-checking behaviours. Self-correction behaviour is nil, at least in this instance. Evidence shows he is using mostly meaning and visual cues and not drawing on structural cues. As a result of not utilising all the sources of information afforded by the text his understanding and comprehension of the text is quite limited and there is no evidence he has really connected with the text. In recent years there has been much research on reading

James begins his essay by ascribing to the word hypothesis to three aspects of what it can essentially be known for, primarily on the basis of an option; each including two distinctions. Consequently, if meeting the three kinds of an option, it becomes a genuine option. First, he suggests a living option, which is based on a hypothesis that is either live or dead to the individual. In doing so, there is a strong sense of rationality as to be willing to partake in this hypothesis in influencing the belief. An example given is choosing whether to believe in a particular religion in which holds value and has some impact on the individual, or simply being an atheist, as that too has an impact (or familiarity). Now, it’s important to note that this is based off the individual, not the evidence. Therefore, if prompted upon choosing between an unfamiliar concept and thus, refusing to acknowledge it any further, it becomes a dead option. An example would be that there are birds in space. Of course, one would deny this solely because of the fact that birds cannot survive in space, and evidently becoming dead to the individual. Which at this point becomes exceptionally useless to further pursue the next options, holding no value in it’s core. But if prompted with the idea that there are birds in the sky, traveling from coast to coast, would prove to be right solely because of the general understanding that birds do fly in the sky and migrate from location to location. Hence, becoming a living option. It’s not necessarily formed on the basis of evidence itself, but the existing possibility can prove to hold true for the individual regardless of any evidence. Now, this

With regard to James Sire, comprehension of someone’s worldview incorporates seven questions that must be addressed. The major question asks what prime reality is. This particular question simply asks what is real in the world. As an individual, I poses some faith in a god. The other question seeks to understand how people understand the surrounding nature. Dispute arise on this question. My faith stands that God created man and all what is on earth and heaven. Similarly, I also tend to hold some believe in the story of evolution and the probabilities of

The term 'Epistemology' was first used by Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier in 1854. However, according to Brett Warren, King James VI of Scotland had previously personified this philosophical concept as the character Epistemon in 1591. In a philosophical dialogue, King James VI of Scotland penned the character Epistemon as the personification of a philosophical concept to debate on arguments of whether the ancient religious perceptions of witchcraft should be punished in a politically fueled Christian society. The arguments King James poses, through the character Epistemon, are based on ideas of theological reasoning regarding society's belief, as his opponent Philomathes takes a philosophical stance on society's legal aspects but

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.

James taught at several universities including both Brown and Yale where he often had arguments and lengthy discussions with his students about religion. In his introductory comments, he clearly states that a lot of his freethinking students did not believe one should believe in religion if it cannot be rationally proven. This was contradictory to his thoughts and consequently wrote the paper in order to try sway his students view.

William James and the concept of religion In this paper, I would first like to summarize the content of William James’ The Varieties of Religious Experiences. Then, I will analyze the significance of James’ claims as it pertains to the study of religion. To state the conclusion of this paper here briefly, James’ focus on the inner experience of religious individuals reflects the very concept of religion as it came to be in the modern times; it is only due to the modern concept of religion as a category independent from other aspects of life that James is able to characterize the inner experience as the “essence” of religion. Therefore his analysis of religious experience demonstrates the effects of the modern concept of religion in our ways

can be either living or dead, in that some ideas you will either entertain, or

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.

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.

Finally, we can see how William James takes an objective point of view from a few quotes in his book “The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy”. One of these quotes was, “ That is why I call pessimism an essentially religious disease.”Now although this may seem to go against his view of allowing people to believe their own thoughts, it is actually the contrary. This is because pessimism is essentially the belief of seeing things negatively or viewing things in a negative light. But, I thin this leads to the point in which William James says that religion is personal. Along with this, he stated, “Be not afraid of life. Believe

People’s lives should not be prized by the amount of views they receive in an article. The Real Right Thing by Henry James explores the concept of the right to privacy when writing about deceased people. For an author, doing the real right thing may be the use of the sensationalism and using people’s secrets for their own benefit for views at the loss of the right to privacy. The individuals who have lost their right to privacy are viewed as potential income when the same could be done to authors without their consent.

Many individuals question the belief of God, and the faith that so many people place in Him. What is not recognized is that people place their faith in others and in things of this world on a day-to-day basis. When we get into a car, a plane or a boat we trust and believing that this vehicle, pilot and this captain is going to take us to the destination we are trying to reach, we think the person behind the wheel has the power to get us there. It is not us who can take us to our endpoint, but God who allows us to get there. There is no easy route to where we are going; no gps can take us to the path of salvation. The only way to our endpoint, landing pad or treasure is through Faith. Faith in the Father, son and The Holy Spirit. If someone felt in their heart that they would like to accept Jesus as their personal savior, I know that He will welcome them with love, mercy and opened arms and they shall be saved. His love, mercy, and Salvation are sufficient for all.