Practical Considerations and Evidence In James's Permission To Believe
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-10-2014
Abstract
Philosophers often read 'The will to believe' as defending the substitution of non-epistemic reasons for inadequate epistemic reasons. I contend that a more charitable reading of James's argument is to understand him as proposing a contextualist account of the kind of evidence needed for responsible believing. On my reading, James claims that evidential support that might be insufficient in a purely theoretical context may be good enough when there is a pressing need to decide on a course of action.
Publication Title
Religious Studies
Volume
51
Issue
1
First Page
21
Last Page
39
Recommended Citation
Holley, D.
(2014). Practical Considerations and Evidence In James's Permission To Believe. Religious Studies, 51(1), 21-39.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/19908