PHIL 1000H Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Lettres Provinciales, Blaise Pascal, Ad Hominem
4 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Remember wk clifford and th huxley (huxley coining the term agnostic) Agnosticism is the belief to suspend judgment on god. Do not believe something without sufficient evidence. The principle admits of no exceptions (is absolute in nature) Clifford defines wrong as two characteristics epistemologically and morally. It"s an intellectual duty to not be wrong. Based on insufficient evidence, you cannot neither agree or disagree of god"s existence. Believing in god or not believing is wrong. James disagrees with the outlook of theism of clifford. The way to understand philosophy is understanding the key. James reconciles a respect for science and a respect for religion. James fundamentally argues that you do not have to choose the dichotomy. James does not refer to specific religions, but purely debates the concept of a. James observes that clifford is truly debating epistemology over god. James uses ad hominem by exposing inconsistency in clifford"s argument.
