James’ Veto of Intellectualism

"If the [religious] hypothesis were true in all its parts, including this one, then pure intellectualism, with its veto on our making willing advances, would be an absurdity; and some participation of our sympathetical nature would be logically required. I, therefore, for one, cannot see my way to accepting the agnostic rules for truth-seeking [i.e. Clifford's Rule], or wifully agree to keep my willing nature out of the game. I cannot do so for this plain reason, that 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." (P 104b)


Richard Lee, rlee@comp.uark.edu, last modified: 22 February 1999