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Title: The Ethics of Belief by A. J. Burger, William Kingdon Clifford, William James ISBN: 1-931333-07-6 Publisher: Dry Bones Press Pub. Date: November, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Stuff
Comment: Interestingly, I found this by searching on "ethics + belief" out of pure curiosity. Boy did I get more than I expected. Here is an illuminating presentation of important philosophical issues regarding belief. Truly one of the most enlightening books I've read. The two classic essays are a joy to read in their own right, I find myself re-reading the Clifford piece every few months. With apologies to Mr. Burger I believe it to be the most incisive and clearly written essay I've read, having only previously read the first few paragraphs of it (excerpted somewhere) prior to finding it in this collection. I found the full text to be remarkable. Mr. Burgers' own analysis in his answer to James' response to Clifford is itself carefully reasoned and well stated. I appreciate the author/editor's enabling me to clarify some things I suspected about the morality of belief and the defense of belief - for so small a price and so short a time. For instance, should I fault myself for belief in magic healing powers of crystals? In fact, is my belief moral? Previously I was somewhat given to James' view, that it is up to me to believe what I want to believe. But can the morality associated with this kind of thinking really be separated from daily actions? And what is the difference between an irrational belief in crystal power, belief in the existence of Zeus, Apollo, or yes, any supernatural entity -- or equally important, decisions regarding everyday issues such as which child spilled the juice when I wasn't looking? As a juror, is it moral for me to decide guilt or innocence based on what I want the outcome to be, or even by reference to a related belief (e.g., the accused is from Virginia and all Virginians are good people)? Are there separate rules for believing depending on the circumstances? Clifford presents a powerful analysis and argument on these issues and supports his conclusion that it is immoral to believe without evidence with careful reasoning and discussion of hypothetical events. In his essay, James attempts to defuse Clifford in his rationalization of his own religious belief. Burgers' analysis carefully and completely demonstrates the problematic weaknesses in James' argument. After reading the last word I was left to wonder why this clear and logical examination came so late. The contents of this short book should be fascinating to anyone interested in issues of belief in gods, philosophy, morality or even just clear thinking.
Rating: 5
Summary: Three essays by three different people.
Comment: This book contains three essays by three different people who do not all agree with each other, not simply the title essay by Clifford. All three essays are about whether or not we should believe things without evidence, or, in other words, whether or not we should have faith. All three essays give reasons for their positions (even when arguing, as James does, that it is okay to have faith in certain circumstances). None of them ask you to merely have faith that their conclusions are true. As they do disagree, obviously they cannot all three be right. However, one must read the essays if one is to evaluate which, if any, of them does give sufficient reasons to be believed.
So whether the first essay by Clifford is "self-refuting", as the second reviewer claims, will not make the book as a whole either good or bad. Clifford's essay is historically relevant to the other essays, as it is one of the things that prompted James to write his essay, which in turn prompted Burger to write his response. So, even if it were self-refuting, it would be good that it is included in this small volume. However, it is a matter of some contention whether or not Clifford's essay is actually self-refuting. Clifford does not simply ask us to take his word for his claim that: "...it is wrong always, everywhere, and for
anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." Clifford gives reasons why he thinks this should be believed. Obviously, these reasons cannot be fully explained in a short review here, but a summary of his main argument can be given (for the details, you will need to actually read the essay rather than a review). Clifford points out that our beliefs affect our actions and our actions affect other people. As we are responsible for our actions that affect others, so, too, are we responsible for the beliefs that prompt those actions. However, we do not have beliefs in isolation of each other; each belief affects the other beliefs we have. Thus, for example, when a ship owner believes that his ship is safe, this gets him to believe that it is okay to send people out to sea on it, without fixing it first. Obviously, whether the ship is actually safe or not is of some importance, so it would be good for the ship owner to obtain his belief from a calm examination of any evidence he is able to gather, rather than forming his belief from a wish to save money on repairs.
Since some of our beliefs will affect how we interact with others, we are responsible for making sure that these beliefs are as accurate as possible. If we believe, for instance, that a man is a murderer, we will be apt to want to send him to prison. As it would be unjust to send an innocent man to prison, we have a duty to be careful about our belief that he is guilty, and therefore should base this belief on evidence rather than some whim. But since our beliefs are interrelated, we need to be careful about our other beliefs as well. For example, if we believe that "black people cannot be trusted" (or some other such ridiculous nonsense that people have actually believed), we may not believe the testimony of the black witnesses who give testimony thatthe man is innocent. So our beliefs about other matters will affect our belief about whether the man is really a murderer or not. So we need to be careful about these other beliefs as well in order to be truly careful about whether or not we believe the person is really a murderer.
Since everyone interacts with other people, their actions will have some affect on others. So the idea that some of us need to be careful about what we believe really applies to everyone.
Again, since some of our beliefs directly affect our actions that directly affect others, we need to be careful about these beliefs, or, in other words, we should only form these beliefs after obtaining sufficient evidence, or, as Clifford says, it is wrong to believe these things without sufficient evidence. And since our beliefs are interrelated, with each belief affecting our other beliefs, in order for us to be careful about one belief, we must be careful about all of our other beliefs, as they may, either singly or in combination with other beliefs, affect that one belief. So we end up with: "...it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
For a recent example of the impact of the faith of others on people's lives, one need only consider the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City on 11 September 2001. Certainly the faith of those terrorists is a matter of concern for others. Here Clifford's words, from 1879, seem quite prophetic: "It is not only the leader of men, statesmen, philosopher, or poet, that owes this bounden duty to mankind. Every rustic who delivers in the village alehouse his slow, infrequent sentences, may help to kill or keep alive the fatal superstitions which clog his race. Every hard-worked wife of an artisan may transmit to her children beliefs which shall knit society together, or rend it in pieces. No simplicity of mind, no obscurity of station, can escape the universal duty of questioning all that we believe." Someone's faith, may, indeed, rend society in pieces.
Again, this review is not intended to be a full explanation of Clifford's arguments, but is simply presented to give the general idea. He does not tell us that we should believe his conclusion without evidence; he gives reasons why he thinks we should agree with him. Before you judge his arguments, however, you must read his essay for yourself.
Unfortunately, there is insufficient space to give even a summary of the arguments of James' and Burger's essays.
Rating: 3
Summary: Naive
Comment: As theologian-philosopher Vincent Cheung points out, Clifford's axiom/conclusion is self-refuting. Since the proposition, "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence" is a universal claim, it must also satisfy its own requirements. This it fails to do. By what epistemology and by what evidence must we accept the very proposition, "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence"?
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