"The Will to Believe" by William James

I'm still reading Kant (I've read the Introduction twice, and I'm ready to move on to the actual Critique now), but I was side-tracked by this essay (which was originally a speech James gave in 1897). I'd heard of it, of course, but hadn't thought of it in years. When I was reminded of it recently, I realized that the ideas at its core were also the central ideas I address on this blog, and in the humor book I'm considering.

As with everything philosophical, I'll need to read it a number of times before I'm willing to start tearing it up. But there are some weak links in this argument, and they come up all the time even today, 111 years after James presented this piece.

This should provide fuel for some more interesting posts here.

On Choosing Belief -- Breaking It Down

For the moment I'll set aside the issue of religious faith and concentrate on more mundane instances of belief.

If a belief can be chosen, if it's a simple act of will, then it should be easy for me to choose to believe that George W. Bush is a lesbian. But I can't. I keep trying, but experience and definition get in the way, suggesting to me that my choices in belief--if they exist at all--are subject to my sense experiences and my ability to reason.

But I'm open to the possibility that I'm wrong. Anybody have a nuance I'm missing?