Sadler's Lectures
Sadler's Lectures
Lectures on classic and contemporary philosophical texts and thinkers by Gregory B. Sadler
William Clifford, The Ethics Of Belief - Veracity, Knowledge, and Judgement - Sadler's Lectures
15 minutes Posted May 28, 2026 at 11:45 pm.
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Show notes
This lecture discusses the William Clifford's 1877 essay "The Ethics Of Belief", in which he makes and argued for the central claim "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence."
It focuses on Clifford's criteria for determining when and whether we ought to give credence to the testimony of other people, especially those who have made assertions we cannot directly verify. He identifies three key qualities we can look for in these persons, namely: veracity, knowledge, and judgement, explains what they are, and applies them to some example cases.
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