The principle of believing in something on insufficient evidence, and might be called inadequate or invalid confirmation of something, got its most famous creation in an essay by W.K. Clifford, entitled “The Ethics of Belief”. Clifford asks a reasonable question: Is it ever morally permissible to believe a proposition on insufficient evidence? He is asking whether it is ever morally okay to let factors other than evidence and logical argument influence our thoughts. To some, it is permissible to think freely and believe things that may have no specific proof to them. This is the argument that philosopher, William James makes against W.K. Clifford. James states: “we ought, on the contrary, delicately and profoundly to respect on another’s mental freedom” (137). Both philosophers make a sound argument, but W.K. Clifford’s standpoint makes better sense
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Clifford takes a stab at practical justification for the relationship between evidence and belief in his essay “The Ethics of Belief”. Using an example of a ship-owner who knowingly sends out a ship that had faulty machinery, caused by poor care, which eventually lead to the ship sinking, Clifford drives home the point that it is always wrong, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence. This is because with insufficient evidence, you run the risk of harming yourself or others. Responding to Clifford, William James wrote “The Will to Believe” in which he makes an argument that it is unlivable to work off of Clifford’s theoretical essay. He believes that life would be greatly impoverished if one did so. It is unlivable because in everyday life, the evidence for theories is usually unclear. James argues that we make many dull decisions every day that are not based upon “sufficient” evidence. People make many decisions based on more than logic and reason. Eventually, if a person does not take the necessary measures throughout their life, they run the risk of potentially losing the
Clifford takes a stab at practical justification for the relationship between evidence and belief in his essay “The Ethics of Belief”. Using an example of a ship-owner who knowingly sends out a ship that had faulty machinery, caused by poor care, which eventually lead to the ship sinking, Clifford drives home the point that it is always wrong, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence. This is because with insufficient evidence, you run the risk of harming yourself or others. Responding to Clifford, William James wrote “The Will to Believe” in which he makes an argument that it is unlivable to work off of Clifford’s theoretical essay. He believes that life would be greatly impoverished if one did so. It is unlivable because in everyday life, the evidence for theories is usually unclear. James argues that we make many dull decisions every day that are not based upon “sufficient” evidence. People make many decisions based on more than logic and reason. Eventually, if a person does not take the necessary measures throughout their life, they run the risk of potentially losing the