Lief Clifford Ethics Of Belief Summary

lief Clifford focuses on three main points throughout the Ethics of Belief article. He believes that in order to have a sense of belief one must inquire on the belief, question authority, and the limit the usage of inference. He believes that without these three factors it is difficult to come to a consensus on what are the right and wrong principles of belief. At the beginning of the article Clifford focuses on the duty of inquiry. In order to set the background, Clifford introduces a story about a man who sent a ship out into the sea knowing it was not seaworthy. The ships condition inevitably led to its sinking, and the death of the people aboard. Now, Clifford claims that the man is guilty of the death of these people because, “… he had no right to believe such evidence was before him”(pg 236). This is true for a number of reasons. Paraphrasing what Clifford mentioned, mans belief is never a private matter, and every insignificant moment counts. Clifford states, “…it is not the belief which is judged to be wrong, but the action following upon it”(pg 237). If the man had
He believes that in order to have a valid belief it must have the principles of inquiry, limitations on authority, and the need for more evidence. Without inquiring more into the evidence, it can lead to false belief which can only cause trouble. I agree with Clifford's view of gaining knowledge through inquiry, examining and investigating the perspective of authority because there is no reason to believe that they themselves are in a position to know right from wrong, that their authority and command on belief is one to be trusted. Lastly I agree with his ideas on the limits of inference. A belief may be something that is beyond our experience and we might never understand this experience unless we have experienced it. Anyone can infer, but without evidence they can't justify a belief especially if it outside what is known to