William Clifford The Ethics Of Belief Summary

1224 Words3 Pages

In his essay “The Ethics of Belief” William K. Clifford argues that it is always and everywhere wrong to believe in something without sufficient evidence. His premise is that we have a moral obligation to examine our beliefs and find sufficient cause for believing them and he concludes with stating “truth can only be gained through objective verification”, like- a mathematical proof. Clifford‘s essay is intended to be a moral rejection of subjectivism, this is when we say that truth can be found within oneself, through one‘s own experiences, for example the children in Fatima who believe in God because they think the Blessed Mother appeared to them and gave them a message or when people “pray for a sign” and then think they see that “sign”. …show more content…

Evidence is important and valuable at times, but not all times. When someone says, “the United States is hiding a UFO and aliens at Area 51” we would want to know on what evidence he is asserting this. But we recognize that insisting on evidence, in many cases, has its limits. No one is allowed to go to Area 51. The government says there are no aliens at Area 51 – we have to accept that and most people do. Humans have basic beliefs that we do not need evidence to maintain. We have beliefs that are from our fundamental experience in everyday life and other beliefs that are from notable authorities on the subject. We believe that most people we meet are of sound mind and body – we do not need to have another person provide proof of their mental ability before we enter into a conversation or debate with them. We believe the Grand Canyon was created by the Colorado River eroding the Earth as geologists have told us. We believe the Roman Empire was one of the most powerful empires on earth and America’s founding fathers were influenced by Roman Law as historians have told us. To investigate everything we hear, see, or read is impossible, we do not have the time to check out all the claims we believe. Clifford is incorrect in claiming we must pursue empirical evidence for ourselves for everything we

Show More
Related

  • The Ethics of Belief by William Clifford: The Moral Obligation to Justify Your Beliefs

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is crucial that every belief must be thoroughly explored and justified to avoid any future repercussions. Clifford provides two examples in which, regardless of the outcome, the party that creates a belief without comprehensive justification ends up at fault. It is possible to apply the situations in The Ethics of Belief to any cases of belief and end up with the conclusion that justification is of utmost importance. Justifying beliefs is so important because even the smallest beliefs affect others in the community, add to the global belief system, and alter the believer moral compass in future decisions.

    Read More

  • William Clifford And Blaise Pascal

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    In order to be considered a non-evidentialist, one must believe that actual evidence is not required for all of our beliefs. Pascal believ...

    Read More

  • Without Evidence Or Argument Clark Analysis

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    Clifford’s claims. Clifford believes that everything must be believed only on the basis of sufficient evidence, including belief in God (Feinberg 139). Clark’s issue with this statement, is that Clifford emphasises that adequate evidence is necessary for all beliefs and in every circumstance (Feinberg 139). Personally, I do not think it is necessary to hold every belief to the same standard of evidence because of the existence of faith and the fact that not everything has to be seen to exist. In John 20:29 it says, “Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’” (NIV Bible). In this passage, Jesus is saying that believing without the visual evidence is particularly harder than having the evidence, but more importantly, it is possible and blessed. Additionally, in 2 Corinthians 5:7 it reads, “For we live by faith, not by sight” (NIV Bible). It is important to notice that in this verse it does not say that we only live by faith and not by sight when it comes to belief in God, but instead we can in every area of life. One reason why we live by faith and not by sight or complete evidence is because it is more practical because as humans we have limited knowledge about the vastness of the universe and every individual thing. Furthermore, in conjunction with Clark’s example against Clifford, it would not

    Read More

  • The Cosmological Argument and the Mystical Argument

    1119 Words  | 3 Pages

    The controversial topic involving the existence of God has been the pinnacle of endless discourse surrounding the concept of religion in the field of philosophy. However, two arguments proclaim themselves to be the “better” way of justifying the existence of God: The Cosmological Argument and the Mystical Argument. While both arguments attempt to enforce strict modus operandi of solidified reasoning, neither prove to be a better way of explaining the existence of God. The downfall of both these arguments rests on commitment of fallacies and lack of sufficient evidence, as a result sabotaging their validity in the field of philosophy and faith.

    Read More

  • The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex and the Meaning of Life

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Question of God is divided into two parts. The first part, titled: “What Should We Believe” seeks to answer the first half of the questio...

    Read More

  • Ethics Of Belief Analysis

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Clifford author of the “Ethics of Belief” creates the argument that it is always wrong for anyone to believe anything upon ‘insufficient evidence’. What does Clifford define evidence as and what is sufficient? Clifford’s argument is more scientific. Basing our beliefs off methodical approaches. If we base all our decisions off sufficient and what we declare to be reliable then what do we stand for? We have our own credentials to believe things even if we do not know why. These beliefs could be innate and

    Read More

  • Presuppositional Apologetics: The Moral Argument for the Existence of God

    2183 Words  | 5 Pages

    A Christian apologetic method is a verbal defense of the biblical worldview. A proof is giving a reason for why we believe. This paper will address the philosophical question of God’s existence from the moral argument. The presuppositional apologetic method of Reformed thinkers Cornelius Van Til and John Frame will be the framework. Topics covered here could undoubtedly be developed in more depth, but that would be getting ahead, here is the big picture.

    Read More

  • Fixing Belief

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    In “The Fixation of Belief”, Charles S. Peirce attempts to explain his four methods of establishing belief, in which he says all people have. These methods can be put to the test with any subject matter, and one shall always fit.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Will To Believe

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William James’s “Will to Believe,” there is a strong focus on amending William K Clifford’s argument surrounding the belief. According to Clifford, belief is completely reliant on evidence. Not only is it completely reliant on evidence but on “sufficient” evidence. James quoted Clifford’s summary of belief in section 2, stating that “it is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” While James showed clear disagreement in Clifford’s assertion, his focus in defending the will to believe centered more on providing the individual with options while recommending the “genuine option” in terms of their will to believe.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of William James's 'The Will To Believe'

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    Blind faith is hard for many. Clifford takes the side of Evidentialism, which is the assertion t

    Read More

  • William James The Will To Believe Analysis

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Upon reading Will to Believe, there is no doubt we will all begin to question how we’ve gotten to our beliefs and why we believe what we do. William James argues against forced beliefs and expresses the importance of choice. The idea of choice is one I strongly agree with. Although we are easily influenced by others, when it comes to beliefs free will must come into play. As far as the science method, which I have discussed, a belief is just as valid whether there is evidence or not because most scientific methods will never be one hundred percent proven and they will change over

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Goldman's What Is Justified Belief?

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    This essay attempts to capitalize on Goldman 's “What is justified belief?” to form an opinion about his ideas. Goldman makes a break from traditional views of knowledge to form a theory of externalism. He gives the reader a new point of view for observing the relationship between knowledge and justification. The following passage will weed out some important aspects of his theory and how they relate to his theory as a whole.

    Read More

  • What Are Clifford's Arguments Against Religion

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    William James argues that religion beliefs aren't meant to be a resource of enlightenment nor a source of knowledge. Instead he believed that religion is just a way, or a tool. Used to provide ourselves with a sense of security and happiness. His work in The Will to Believe argues if one should accept these religious views without sustainable evidence.

    Read More

  • Descartes Response To Skepticism

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some of the first major philosophical works that I read were Descartes’ Meditations. In his first Meditation, Descartes writes about the idea of skepticism. This is when I was exposed to the topic of skepticism and I found myself interested in the idea right from the start. Skepticism is one of the most popular topics in epistemology. It is also not a topic that only appeals to philosophers. Skepticism is a topic that draws many people’s attention because it is an idea that rocks the cores of many of the beliefs that are closest to us. After all, some of the concepts that follow from the idea of skepticism are ones such as we might not actually have any knowledge of the world or the world, as we know it, might not actually be real. Skeptical scenarios prove to be both intriguing and intimidating. Responses to skepticism usually turn out to be satisfying in some ways but carry unwanted baggage in other ways. Overall, skepticism is a topic that much thought has been dedicated to and one that has led to many philosophical developments. In this paper, I will touch upon

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Augustine And Al Ghazali

    1881 Words  | 4 Pages

    The argument that is used in the idea of skepticism has comparable and incompatible views given from Augustine and Al-Ghazali. Both monologues cover and explain the doubts one should have, due to the

    Read More

More about William Clifford The Ethics Of Belief Summary

Open Document