Explain the characteristics of a belief that is live, forced, and momentous. Give examples for each. What kind of belief fits all three? Has James found an exception to Clifford’s standard for belief? Do you agree more with Clifford or James?
Whether or not a hypothesis is live or not depends on its correlation to the believer. When we combine hypotheses, we produce an option. There are three main types of options. The first is a living or dead option. In order for an option to be living, both of its hypotheses have to be considered live. In other words, both hypotheses have to have some believable meaning to the thinker. If only one is live then the option would be dead. An example would go something like this: Be a student or be a part of the work force. Both of these hypotheses have meaning to me personally, as I understand the substance of what both those things consist of. The second type of option is a forced or avoidable option. It could be said that this decision on this option is left to the discretion of the wording. An example of an avoidable option would be; Either like the president or hate the president. A forced option would be one with no alternative or way out. The third option is a momentous or trivial option. If an option were to be momentous, it would have to be a one of a kind, almost once in a lifetime type of experience. For example, if I were to give you front row tickets for gymnastics at the olympics, that would be a momentous decision that you have to make because that is not a very common opportunity. A trivial option is one that is fairly commonly occurring in life. So if someone invited you to a movie, you would be experiencing a trivial option.
I do think that James has found an exception to Cliffords standard of belief. I personally agree more with James and his philosophy behind seeking truth. How will you ever find truth if you don’t risk believing something that is false? The answer is that you wont. Truth can be perceived differently and everyone has their own conditions for something to be true. If we went with the standard definition of truth, (when something correlates to a proven fact in the world) you still would not be able to find the truth if you do not risk falling for a lie!
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