William James

Truth is about…

practical consequences for individuals

Belief is only true if…

it is beneficial to our lives

A question is real if…

the answer is beneficial to our lives

Hypothesis

anything that can be proposed to a belief

Hypotheses can be…

Dead (no real possibility presented) or living (real possibility presented)

Options can be…

dead/living, forced(cannot not be)/not forced, trivial/momentous(opportunity will not come along again)

A genuine option is…

living, forced, and momentous

Who was his opponent & what did he believe

Clifford; we should never believe anything unless we have sufficient evidence (we have a duty to work against false beliefs)

Jame’s opposition to Clifford

It is only dead hypotheses that are false/not possible to believe

Important quote:

“Believe Truth/Shun Error”

What is meant by “Believe Truth/Shun Error”

Believe truth: Use your will

Shun error: (Clifford) don’t believe anything untrue → don’t believe anything at all

If an option is forced…

Ought to use intellect…there is no time to wait for evidence

Religious Hypothesis

The option to believe or not believe in a divine reality

The Religious Hypothesis is _____ and ______ because…

forced (if you don’t believe you lose the benefit of eternal things) and momentous (if you don’t choose it, you are missing what will make your life better now)