Theory of Knowledge
Fall 2006
Third Homework Assignment
Directions: Before you start writing anything, be sure you have read everything on the syllabus through section IIIA. You can write a paper of approximately 2 pages on any point in these readings. Several specific topics are suggested below. Make sure that your writing is clear and precise and that you make it very clear what your central point is. Whatever your topic, it’s better to have a more thorough discussion of a small point than a vague and general discussion of a larger issue. This assignment is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, October 11. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. If you are having a hard time picking a topic, I recommend (2).
1) In class it was argued that James does not have a good objection to Clifford. If you think that he does have a good objection, explain why.
2) In Section X of “The Will to Believe,” William James says, “a rule of thinking which would absolutely prevent me from acknowledging certain kinds of truth if those kinds of truth were really there, would be an irrational rule.” Discuss this claim. Is James right? What implications does James’ claim have for evidentialism and Clifford’s rule?
3) Argue in support of one of the objections to evidentialism discussed and rejected in text, pp. 47-9.
4) State and defend a new objection to evidentialism.