“The Ethics of Belief” PHIL 2641 Online – Section 001 February 13‚ 2008 William K. Clifford sets out to show in “The Ethics of Belief” that “it is wrong always‚ everywhere‚ and for anyone‚ to believe anything upon insufficient evidence…” In this paper‚ I will show that his argument lacks key definitions needed in order to found his inference upon and that it begs the question as to what qualifies as “insufficient” evidence. Furthermore‚ I will show that the primary issue is not the belief but the
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William K. Clifford argues in “The Ethics of Belief” that to believe in anything without sufficient evidence is unethical. Firstly‚ beliefs guide our actions‚ and actions guided by unsupported beliefs can have fatal consequences. We have a duty to mankind to perform responsible actions‚ so our beliefs must be responsible. Secondly‚ believing without thorough consideration makes one unable to support not just his claims‚ but his fellow man as well. And lastly‚ it robs people of their humanity by taking
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In William K. Clifford’s‚ The Ethics of Belief‚ he begins the essay telling a story of a ship-owner. The ship-owner was in the process of allowing a ship to sail off into the sea carrying emigrants. He knew the ship was old‚ needed to be rebuilt and was overworked. In his mind‚ he knew that the ship was not seaworthy which made him unhappy. The problem that plagued him the most were the possible expenses to the ship and he simply did not want to pay them. So instead of getting the ship repaired‚
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article on “The Ethics of Belief‚” that’s written by Clifford he states that “it is wrong always‚ everywhere‚ and for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.”The example that Clifford gives of the immorality of belief without evidence is the shipowner‚ who goes for any repair to his own ship and overcomes his own doubts.He believed his ship was seaworthy. Then going through the expense of checking it and making the necessary repairs. This example plays off the belief against self-interest
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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
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“The Ethics of Belief” written by W.K. Clifford. Explains the idea of belief and moral righteousness by coming up with the conclusion that it is morally incorrect to believe in a claim with insufficient evidence or to create a claim without sufficient evidence. Clifford brings about various analogies that prove his claim to be true such as the ship-owner and the religious group on the island. Although these ideas helped set out the theory efficiently‚ William James essay “The Will to Believe” believes
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In the most basic sense evidentialism focuses on the justifications‚ beliefs‚ conclusions‚ and the evidence for each of these for any given person. William Clifford’s work‚ The Ethics of Beliefs‚ presents his principle of evidentialism and how one must judge the beliefs and justifications rather than consequences. Given Clifford’s definition‚ counter arguments regarding the necessity of consequences towards an individual’s action arise to invalidate Clifford’s claim. I will argue that despite the
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Does Clifford present a persuasive viewpoint of religious faith? In his article “The Ethics of Belief (Clifford‚ 1877) W.K. Clifford sought to claim that it is inappropriate always‚ in all places‚ and for anyone‚ to believe anything upon unsatisfactory evidence. The goal of this paper is to determine whether indeed this opinion offered by Clifford‚ when considering religious faith‚ is persuasive. To successfully do this‚ I will weigh up the arguments that Clifford put forward‚ including that of disbelieving
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It is often said that people are what they believe. Philosopher William Clifford would not only agree with this statement‚ but provides context to why he argues that it is wrong to believe something without sufficient evidence. In his perspective‚ the beliefs people hold have power over the people they are and the people that these beliefs are shared with. The consequences can be‚ or in his view‚ are always harmful. He uses the example of a shipowner allowing an unsafe ship to set sail‚ as he trusts
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Clifford and James Summaries of W.K. Clifford and William James’s arguments for belief | In this paper‚ I hope to effectively summarize W.K Clifford’s (1879) argument on the ethics of belief‚ followed by a summary of William James’ (1897) argument on the right to believe‚ and finally‚ provide an argument for why W.K Clifford’s (1879) argument is stronger by highlighting its strengths while simultaneously arguing against William James’ (1897) argument. According to Clifford (1879)‚ there
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