Download This PaperEvidentialism and James' Argument from Friendship
8 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2007 Last revised: 10 Oct 2007
Date Written: October 5, 2007
Abstract
William James' main argument in "The Will to Believe" against evidentialism is that there are facts that cannot come to be without a preliminary faith in their coming. James primarily makes this case with the argument from friendship. I will critically present James' argument from friendship and show that the argument does not yield a counter-example to evidentialism and is in the end unsound.
Keywords: evidentialism, justification, ethics of belief, pragmatism, will to believe
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Aikin, Scott F., Evidentialism and James' Argument from Friendship (October 5, 2007). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1019535 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1019535
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