![]() “It is never lawful to stifle a doubt.” he writes. He then collects his insurance, while everyone in his ship dies at sea, because the vessel had proven unseaworthy.Ĭlifford generalizes from this narrative to all matters of belief, where evidence is insufficient. The ship owner overcomes his doubts for the sake of self-interest. This example is one that plays off belief against self-interest. In the “Ethics of Belief,” William Clifford argued 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 that of a ship owner, who forgoes an overhaul of his ship, overcoming his doubts, and believing his ship sea-worthy, rather than going through the expense of checking it and making the necessary repairs. The Ethics of Belief: William Clifford versus William Jamesįrom peter krey’s website filled with scholarship, sermons, songs, poems, and blogging
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