Cliffords "the Ethics of Belief"
This passage stood out.
"The harm which is done by credulity in a man is not confined to the fostering of a credulous character in others, and consequent support of false beliefs. Habitual want of care about what I believe leads to habitual want of care in others about the truth of what is told to me. Men speak the truth to one another when each reveres the truth in his own mind and in the other's mind; but how shall my friend revere the truth in my mind when when I myself am careless about it, when when I believe things because I want to believe them, and because they are comforting and pleasant? Will he not learn to cry, "Peace," to me, when there is no peace? By such a course I shall surround myself with a thick atmosphere of falsehood and fraud, and in that I must live. It may matter little to me, in my cloud-castle of sweet illusions and darling lies; but it matters much to Man that I have made my neighbours ready to deceive. The credulous man is father to the liar and the cheat; he lives in the bosom of this family, and it is no marvel if he should become even as they are. So closely are our duties knit together, that whoso shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
Because man is undeniably a social mammal, we require morals in order to properly function socially. Morals are the objective rules one must follow in order to create a healthy society. If something can be considered harmful, it is necessarily morally wrong. We can look to Kant for an explanation on how to figure these rules in his first and second imperatives. These imperatives have been attacked, but I've yet to see anything that would actually defeat his duty based ethics system.
This moral statement then becomes the evidence needed to support Clifford's claim
"To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
Now, I must read "The Will to Believe" by William James.
"The harm which is done by credulity in a man is not confined to the fostering of a credulous character in others, and consequent support of false beliefs. Habitual want of care about what I believe leads to habitual want of care in others about the truth of what is told to me. Men speak the truth to one another when each reveres the truth in his own mind and in the other's mind; but how shall my friend revere the truth in my mind when when I myself am careless about it, when when I believe things because I want to believe them, and because they are comforting and pleasant? Will he not learn to cry, "Peace," to me, when there is no peace? By such a course I shall surround myself with a thick atmosphere of falsehood and fraud, and in that I must live. It may matter little to me, in my cloud-castle of sweet illusions and darling lies; but it matters much to Man that I have made my neighbours ready to deceive. The credulous man is father to the liar and the cheat; he lives in the bosom of this family, and it is no marvel if he should become even as they are. So closely are our duties knit together, that whoso shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all."
Because man is undeniably a social mammal, we require morals in order to properly function socially. Morals are the objective rules one must follow in order to create a healthy society. If something can be considered harmful, it is necessarily morally wrong. We can look to Kant for an explanation on how to figure these rules in his first and second imperatives. These imperatives have been attacked, but I've yet to see anything that would actually defeat his duty based ethics system.
This moral statement then becomes the evidence needed to support Clifford's claim
"To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
Now, I must read "The Will to Believe" by William James.