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William Clifford claims that “[i]t is wrong always, everywhere, and for every one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence” (quoted in James, “The Will to Believe,” 8)
William Clifford claims that “[i]t is wrong always, everywhere, and for every one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence” (quoted in James, “The Will to Believe,” 8). William James counters that “[t]here are two ways of looking at our duty in the matter of opinion.... We must know the truth; and we must avoid error” (17). “Believe truth! Shun error!” he goes on—“these are...two materially different laws; and by choosing between them we may end by coloring differently our whole intellectual life” (18).
Two questions:
Is James right that these are “materially different laws”? As best you can, come up with an example where the exhortation to “believe truth!” parts ways from the exhortation to “shun error!” In other words, come up with an example where “shunning error” would lead you in one direction, “believing truth” in another.
James says that he finds it “impossible to go with Clifford” (18), who, as James reads him, prioritizes shunning error over believing truth. Are you with Clifford or James? Explain your preference through an example.
Expert Solution
Question one
My example involves the decision to get an education. The majority of the society members believe that through education, one becomes successful in life. People think that when you go to school, one gathers knowledge that leads to success. Although I had done no research to establish the validity of these assumptions, I had the confidence that I would pass all my exams throughout my education and proceed to my career. Now, I enjoy the success of education, something I would have not achieved if I doubted the notion that education is the key to success.
Question two
In my opinion, the two arguments by James and Clifford depend on the situation. For instance, when dealing with a case where a man is accused of raping a small child, we cannot believe that truly the man raped the child. Rather, we should gather enough evidence that proves the man guilty. However, whenever faced with a pandemic like the Coronavirus, we believe that the situation will be better with time as we mitigate it. We should not always trust our faith in every case since we may be biased in our decisions afterward.
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