Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
William James and his influences
William James and his influences
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: William James and his influences
William James and W.K. Clifford both had very exceptional arguments regarding if it is acceptable to hold beliefs without proper evidence, and there is a national debate going on for years regarding who was right and who was wrong. They both had very valid logic to their reasoning behind what the stood for, but they also had totally different outlooks on the argument. Being that I have read both arguments, they both bring up crucial points and details along the way. William James holds the argument in that he believes humans have a right to believe even when the supporting evidence is ineffective. James also believes that the existence of human beings is far more important that most things. James touches on genuine choice and talks
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.
Then he goes on to conclude by saying that, “The lessons learned from observing people and their beliefs support the position that I have defended: rational people may rationally believe in God without evidence or argument” (Feinberg 142). In schools today, students grow up listening to lectures that are subjective and then later are tested on what the teacher thinks and believes. Whether or not the taught perspective is factual or not, it teaches students from a young age to just take what the teachers, adults, and any authority says as truth, as a way to respecting authority. In the same way that it is reasonable to believe respectable authority, it is rational to have belief in God without specific evidence because we are created with the inclination that a higher being exists and God has shown Himself to be true to every generation. Furthermore, God has placed in every human the inkling to believe what is right or wrong, so when it comes to deciding whether to act a certain way, we can rely on our gut feeling if it is a good action or not. It is a very common and suggested thing to trust one's gut feeling when making a decision, even though it does not require any evidence to see if it is actually the right decision to
James states that the human nature can be only concluded through the profound judgment as it were. He expresses his opinion as openly “No” on the individuality of human nature and on the lives of men whether they share an identical religious element. The reason that he has mentioned is that he does not see how can it be possible for human with different nature and different culture can share exactly same duties and power. Every person has his own views and believes when we are taking such a strong topic into account. Everyone has their unique way of dealing. Religion can be dealt in two ways either it can be
His slapstick films seem to be wackier than some of his early teen films, but Sixteen Candles and the Breakfast Club had their fair share of wacky moments. Many of John Hughes's later comedic films have their fair share of heartfelt moments, as well. Blending farcical elements with more dramatic elements seems to be another consistent feature of most John Hughes films, whether he was the writer, director, producer, or all three at once.
Clifford’s arguments for this conclusion is that if we are gullible enough to believe something without evidence then we are not only harming our individual credibility and intellect but also polluting the rest of society...
In the article, "The Will to Believe", William James responds to W.K. Clifford who argued
In the short story “‘The Pupil” by Henry James, James introduces three characters, Pemberton, Morgan Moreen and Mrs. Moreen. Through an ironic tone focusing on Pemberton’s perspective, James uses the three characters to create a story.
James, W. (2009, May 8). The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Will to Believe, by William James. Retrieved from The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy: http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26659/pg26659.txt
This paper will dispute that scientific beliefs are not the right way to accept a belief and it will question if we should let one accept their rights to their own beliefs. In Williams James article Will to Believe, we accept his perspective on how we set and fix our beliefs. This paper will first outline his overview on the argument that someone does not choose their belief but rather one just has them. Following, it will outline my perspective on how we set our beliefs and agreement with purse. Then it will explain how other methodologies such as science cannot conclude to one’s true beliefs. Science has been seen as a way to perceive life and taken to consideration as the truth. This paper should conclude that humans define ourselves by
I have no answer to these arguments, but am finally compelled to admit that there is not one of my former beliefs about which a doubt may not properly be raised; and this is not a flippant or ill-considered conclusion, but is based on powerful and well thought-out reasons. So in future I must withhold my assent from these former beliefs just as carefully as I would from obvious falsehoods, if I want to discover any certainty. — Rene Descartes (1)
William James, a philosopher in the late 18th and early 19th century shared his view on the common misconceptions of pragmatists account for the truth. Although I am only going to reinforce James views on a couple of these, there were in fact eight misunderstandings in his eyes. There is a passage written by James on his thoughts of what he called an automatic sweetheart.
The role of faith has been debated among many theologians, scientists, and philosophers. It has been greatly discussed and depicted throughout history as whether faith is logical when it comes to religion or whether faith is completely absurd. In this essay, I will focus on the role of faith through the lenses of Christian philosophers Sorean Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. Faith plays an important role in Kierkegaard and Tillich theology; I will critically examine their depiction of faith and compare and contrast their passages. Kiergarrd view of faith is that it is completely absurd where as Ti
William James wrote "The Will to Believe," an argument about the foundation of belief. James argued the notions of “genuine option” and “forced belief”. He claimed that each of us has options to believe; but some facts are forced beliefs. William James explained “religious hypotheses” and the notion of faith without cause.
William James became famous for writing books . And how his childhood had ways to do with him becoming famous. By the paths he took, changes he made, and things he did to become famous. He is a famous Philosopher and he wrote books about Psychology and religion. He had attended schools all around.
Henry James, one of the most well-known and influential American writers of the 19th century, was born on April 15, 1843, in New York City. His father, Henry James Sr., was an extremely eccentric philosopher, lecturer, and social theorist who became highly influenced and interested in the ideologies of Swedenborg, a Swedish scientist and philosopher. James Sr. believed that "the curse of mankind, that which keeps our manhood so little and so depraved, is its sense of selfhood, and the absurd abominable opinionativeness it engenders.” Bringing these ideas home with him, his lectures were constantly engraved into the adolescent mind of Henry James. James’ mother, Mary Walsh, came from a wealthy family background. Her sister, Katherine, lived with the family for some time. Similar to his prominent father, James was the younger brother of William James, a pragmatist