James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine: A Heretical View

James C.S. Wernham

Published by McGill-Queen's University Press 1997

James's Will-To-Believe Doctrine

James C.S. Wernham

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773561175

Overview
Contents

About this book

In 1896 William James published an essay entitled The Will to Believe, in which he defended the legitimacy of religious faith against the attacks of such champions of scientific method as W.K. Clifford and Thomas Huxley. James's work quickly became one of the most important writings in the philosophy of religious belief. James Wernham analyses James's arguments, discusses his relation to Pascal and Renouvier, and considers the interpretations, and misinterpretations, of James's major critics. Wernham shows convincingly that James was unaware of many destructive ambiguitities in his own doctrines and arguments, although clear and consistent in his view that our obligation to believe in theism is not a moral but a prudential obligation -- a foolish-not-to-believe doctrine, rather than a not-immoral-to-believe one. Wernham also shows that the doctrine is best read as affirming the wisdom of gambling that God exists, a notion which James failed to distinguish from believing and which, among other things, he explicitly identified with faith. James's pragmatism, a theory concerning the meaning of truth, is shown to be quite distinct from the doctrine of The Will to Believe. In concentrating on a careful analysis of this doctrine of the will-to-believe, Wernham not only makes a major contribution to understanding James's philosophy, but also clarifies issues in the philosophy of religion and in the analysis of belief and faith.

Reviews

"an exceptionally valuable study ... an important contribution to the subject, clearly stated and well conceived." H.D. Lewis, King's College, Cambridge University.

Topics

Front Matter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Beginnings
The Nation Affair Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
Message from the Mountains Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
From Mountaineering to Metaphysics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
The Will to Believe
Forced Options Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	33
Momentous and Intellectually Undecidable Options Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	40
The Religions Hypothesis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Belief and Other Things Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	54
Belief and Faith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	60
James and Some Others
Clifford Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
Pascal Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
Bain Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
Renouvier and Pragmatism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Two Critics Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	101
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	121
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125

Language: English
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
Audience: College/higher education;Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 141

eBook

Published: June 6, 1997
ISBN: 9780773561175