Section 6.3 Faith and Meaning Believing the Unbelievable McGraw-Hill © 2013 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.

6.3-2 The Leap of Faith  “Faith,” by definition, is “belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.”  Kierkegaard argues that belief in the Christian God must be a matter of faith because the notion of an immortal being becoming mortal is absurd.

6.3-3 Kierkegaard on Belief  Kierkegaard claims that you can make something objectively true by believing it passionately enough.  Objection: This is self-contradictory—a proposition and its negation could be believed passionately by different people, but both propositions couldn’t be true.

6.3-4 Kierkegaard and Russell on Belief  Kierkegaard: “Whoever is neither hot nor cold [who doesn’t believe passionately] is nauseating.”  Russell: “There is something feeble, and a little contemptible, about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help of comfortable myths.”

6.3-5 Evidentialism  Only beliefs based on evidence can be justified.  Some claim that you have a moral obligation to proportion your belief to the evidence.

6.3-6 Clifford and Huxley on Belief  “It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything on insufficient evidence.” –W. K. Clifford  “It is wrong for a man to say that he is certain of the objective truth of any proposition unless he can produce evidence which logically justifies that certainty.” –T. H. Huxley

6.3-7 Thought Probe: Blanshard’s Beliefs  Are Blanshard and Clifford correct in claiming that we have a duty to proportion our beliefs to the evidence?  Can you think of a counterexample, a case where it would not be right to proportion your belief to the evidence?  Should people who don’t proportion their belief to the evidence be ashamed of themselves? Why or why not?

6.3-8 James on the Will to Believe  When a belief can be decided on intellectual grounds, it’s wrong to believe on faith.  When a belief is a genuine option, and when believing it to be true can make it true, it’s permissible to believe on faith. For example: By having faith that someone likes you, they may come to like you.

6.3-9 Problems with the Will to Believe  Beliefs don’t bring about changes in others, actions do.  The knowledge that acting as if we like someone can help make them like us is based on evidence.  Believing in God can’t help bring about the existence of God.

James on the Affirmations of Religion  First: religion says that the best things are the eternal things. “Perfection is eternal.”  Second: religion says that we are better off if we accept the first affirmation.  James claims that accepting the first affirmation will help us have a more personal relationship to the universe.

Thought Probe: James and Pandeism  Pandeism, like pantheism, claims that the universe is God.  Unlike pantheism, however, it claims that the universe is a person.  James claims that viewing the universe as a person would help give meaning to your life.  Do you agree? Why or why not?

The Meaning of Life  Some believe that our lives can be meaningful if and only if they are part of a divine plan.

Thought Experiment: God’s Plan  Suppose that God created us to serve as food for some more advanced creatures.  Would it make our lives meaningful to be eaten by those creatures?

Thought Probe: Meaning and Morality  It’s wrong to use people merely as a means to an end because that violates their fundamental right to self- determination.  If God created us for a purpose, it would seem that he is using us merely as a means to an end.  Is it immoral for God to create people in order to achieve a particular purpose?

Existentialism  According to Existentialism, “existence precedes essence.” Humans exist prior to and independently of any notion of who they are or what they should do.  Humans define themselves and create their own meaning by making choices.

Sartre on the Human Condition  Abandonment: no one can make our choices for us.  Aguish: we have to choose.  Despair: we have to live with the consequences of our choices.

Barnes on the Human Condition  “No humanistic existentialist will allow that the only alternative is despair and irresponsibility.”  “The individual life may have an intrinsic value…whether the universe knows what it’s doing or not.”

Thought Probe: Meaning and Purpose  Some believe that their life can be meaningful only if they were created for a certain purpose.  Others believe that meaning can only come from within, that it can’t be imposed from without.  Which do you believe?

Religion Without God  Those who have a religious orientation toward life share four characteristics: A sense of the numinous. Deep feelings of love, joy, and peace. A distaste of vanity and greed. A desire to help others.  One need not believe in God to have these characteristics.