Believing Against the Evidence: Agency and the Ethics of Belief (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy) - Softcover

Book 62 of 207: Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy

McCormick, Miriam Schleifer Schleifer

 
9781138208940: Believing Against the Evidence: Agency and the Ethics of Belief (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1138208949 ISBN 13: 9781138208940
Publisher: Routledge, 2016

Synopsis

The question of whether it is ever permissible to believe on insufficient evidence has once again become a live question. Greater attention is now being paid to practical dimensions of belief, namely issues related to epistemic virtue, doxastic responsibility, and voluntarism.

In this book, McCormick argues that the standards used to evaluate beliefs are not isolated from other evaluative domains. The ultimate criteria for assessing beliefs are the same as those for assessing action because beliefs and actions are both products of agency. Two important implications of this thesis, both of which deviate from the dominant view in contemporary philosophy, are 1) it can be permissible (and possible) to believe for non-evidential reasons, and 2) we have a robust control over many of our beliefs, a control sufficient to ground attributions of responsibility for belief.

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About the Author

Miriam Schleifer McCormick is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Richmond, US.

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Publisher
Routledge
Publication date
2016
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1138208949
ISBN 13 
9781138208940
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
160

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780415818841: Believing Against the Evidence: Agency and the Ethics of Belief (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  0415818842 ISBN 13:  9780415818841
Publisher: Routledge, 2014
Hardcover