Sign-In
Cart
The Ethics of Belief and The Will to Believe
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781789874457
Publisher: Pantianos Classics
Published: Jan 1 1896
Pages: 128
Weight: 0.44
Height: 0.30 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
William Kingdon Clifford's excellent treatise The Ethics of Belief is in this edition united with The Will to Believe; the spirited response by William James.
This book brings together the two essays which comprise the famous philosophical exchange between the mathematician William Kingdon Clifford and William James, a psychologist and philosopher. Famous for articulating the arguments and morality surrounding belief, these two papers are united in a single compact edition for the consideration and study of the reader.
The chief difference in opinion between Clifford and James, surrounds the matter of evidence. Clifford argued that belief in anything without supporting evidence is folly; individuals should hold an intellectual duty as well as a moral duty in what they believe. Wishful thinking, supposition, assumptions, or blind faith are therefore unacceptable and can act to damage one's intellect and ability to reason.
William James, in opposition to Clifford's view, states that the formation of beliefs is justifiable. He uses the athlete as one example; self-belief in one's abilities or capacity for achievement can provision a psychological edge that results in such beliefs being realized.
James then proceeds to outline a number of conditions which seek to justify the phenomena of religious belief as an intellectual and moral occurrence. That the issue of whether God exists is intellectually undecidable is central to James's thesis: a person can, without impinging on their intellect or morals, choose to believe or not to believe in a deity.
Both Clifford and James draw upon the established epistemic norms of philosophy, these being the principles which seekers of knowledge and truth should hold when acquiring a belief. Their exchange served to refine the norms in scholarly circles, ushering in a renewed and sustained interest in belief morality.
A total of almost two decades elapsed between Clifford and James papers, and Clifford himself died in 1879. However the succinctness of James' reply - which acts as an effective summary for the arguments within many of his lengthier works - brought both his paper and the paper of Clifford to prominence in academic circles.
Also from
Clifford, William Kingdon
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Volumes 1-3
Tucker, Robert
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Part 1, book 4
Tucker, Robert
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
The Scientific Basis of Morals: And Other Essays, viz.: Right And Wrong, the Ethics of Belief, the Ethics of Religion
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Volumes 1-3
Clifford, William Kingdon
Tucker, Robert
Paperback
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
On Some Conditions of Mental Development: Together with on the Unconscious Activity of the Brain
Carpenter, William B.
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Volume 4
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
The Scientific Basis of Morals: And Other Essays, viz.: Right And Wrong, the Ethics of Belief, the Ethics of Religion
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Volume 4
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Part 1, Book 1
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Part 1, Book 1
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies, Part 1, book 4
Clifford, William Kingdon
Tucker, Robert
Hardcover
Lectures and Essays by William Kingdon Clifford; Volume 2
Clifford, William Kingdon
Stephen, Leslie
Pollock, Frederick
Hardcover
Lectures and Essays by William Kingdon Clifford; Volume 2
Stephen, Leslie
Pollock, Frederick
Clifford, William Kingdon
Paperback
Elements of Dynamic: An Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest
Clifford, William Kingdon
Hardcover
Elements of Dynamic; an Introduction to the Study of Motion and Rest in Solid and Fluid Bodies
Clifford, William Kingdon
Tucker, Robert
Hardcover
Also in
Philosophy
Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea
Hunt-Hendrix, Leah
Taylor, Astra
Hardcover
In the Beginning Was the Deed: Realism and Moralism in Political Argument
Williams, Bernard
Paperback
The American Indian Mind in a Linear World: American Indian Studies and Traditional Knowledge
Fixico, Donald Lee
Paperback
Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media
Lowenstein, Adam
Paperback
Machine Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm: Spiritual Freedom and the Re-Animation of Matter
Lafitte, Luke
Paperback
The Sociogony: Social Facts and the Ontology of Objects, Things, and Monsters
Worrell, Mark P.
Paperback
On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings
Pirsig, Robert M.
Pirsig, Wendy K.
Hardcover
The Electromagnetic Brain: Em Field Theories on the Nature of Consciousness
Joye, Shelli Renée
Paperback
Philosophy in Turbulent Times: Canguilhem, Sartre, Foucault, Althusser, Deleuze, Derrida
Roudinesco, Elisabeth
Paperback
The New Science of Giambattista Vico: Unabridged Translation of the Third Edition (1744) with the Addition of Practic of the New Science
Vico, Giambattista
Paperback
The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy
Giridharadas, Anand
Hardcover
The Dream of Reason: A History of Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance
Gottlieb, Anthony
Paperback
The Modes of Scepticism: Ancient Texts and Modern Interpretations
Barnes, Jonathan
Julia, Annas
Annas, Julia
Paperback
Friendship and Society: An Introduction to Augustine's Practical Philosophy
Burt, Donald X.
Paperback
Essays V2: Moral And Entertaining On The Various Faculties And Passions Of The Human Mind (1815)
Clarendon, Edward Hyde Earl of
Paperback
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Holiday, Ryan
Hanselman, Stephen
Hardcover
The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us
Goldstein, Rebecca Newberger
Hardcover
The Obstacle Is the Way Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph
Holiday, Ryan
Hardcover
Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us about Living
Jones, Peter
Hardcover
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
Godfrey-Smith, Peter
Paperback
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Fifth Anniversary Limited Edition: The Global Bestseller
Mackesy, Charlie
Hardcover
Bless & Release: The physics of letting go-and wanting what's meant for you.
Laporte, Danielle
Paperback
The Ethical Slut, Third Edition: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love
Hardy, Janet W.
Easton, Dossie
Paperback
My Big TOE Awakening Discovery Inner Workings: The Complete My Big TOE Trilogy Unifying Philosophy, Physics and Metaphysics
Campbell, Thomas
Hardcover
Self-Reliance and Nature: The Complete First and Second Series of Emerson's Essays
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
Hardcover
Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan
Yoda, Hiroko
Hardcover
Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark: Mysticism, Art, and the Path of Unknowing
Smith, James K. A.
Hardcover