“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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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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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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“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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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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The Comparison of Ethics and Will in Belief Socrates is quoted as saying “ I cannot teach anybody anything‚ I can only make them think.” and that is what we are asked to do for this end of the term writing assignment. Philosophy‚ at least in my own case‚ has never been easy to understand‚ especially when talking about the religious implication. When it comes to those aspects I always tend to look in the direction of faith because I was born and raised a Christian. This is why comparing William
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“The Ethics of Belief” by William K. Clifford Clifford’s main thesis in “The Ethics of belief” is it it always wrong to believe something without sufficient evidence. It means people cannot believe and trust anything with no evidence to prove if it’s wrong or right. And also no matter what evidence is‚ wrong belief is wrong event. Like you can’t believe God because there’s no such evidence to prove the God is really exists. No one actually see the God and talk to s/he‚ to prove that God is
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1. So far‚ we have been discussing the manner in which Clifford argues that it is sometimes impermissible to believe something when one lacks adequate evidence. But remember: Clifford’s position is that it is never permissible to believe anything for which one lacks adequate evidence. How does Clifford extend the argument we’ve considered into one(s) whose conclusion(s) is/are that it is never permissible to believe anything for which one lacks adequate evidence? To what extent are his arguments
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thoughts regarding Clifford’s argument in “the Ethics of Belief‚" as well as presenting my opposition as to why I disagree with Clifford’s view. According to Clifford‚ he holds that it is best to always act according to rationality and logical evidence‚ rather than relying on baseless assumptions and emotional support since those things can only cloud one’s judgment‚ which thereby resulting in an erroneous consequence. However‚ in contradiction to Clifford’s belief‚ I do not think that it is always the case
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#2 Clifford offers several different reasons why he thinks our beliefs are not merely our own private business. Explain two of those reasons. Which of the two do you think is a more compelling reason to think our beliefs are not our private business? Does the more compelling reason convince you that your beliefs are everyone’s business? Why or why not? William Kingdon Clifford was an English Mathematician and Philosopher who lived from 1845 to 1879. In 1877‚ he wrote “The Ethics of Belief”; which
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