{"product_id":"the-will-to-believe-and-other-essays-in-popular-philosophy","title":"The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow do you choose what to believe when proof runs out, but life will not wait?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy, William James brings faith, doubt, and choice into everyday reach. These talks and articles ask when hope deserves trust, whether life is worth living, and how much freedom we have. James speaks to ordinary educated readers, with room for disagreement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe title essay challenges William Kingdon Clifford’s demand for sufficient evidence before belief. Is Life Worth Living? explores a harder personal question, while The Sentiment of Rationality examines feeling’s place in reason. The Dilemma of Determinism and The Moral Philosopher and the Moral Life turn toward freedom and responsibility. Across the collection, ideas matter because people must act.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eInside this book\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBelief under pressure\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow James as he asks when a choice cannot wait for decisive evidence.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReason with feeling\u003c\/strong\u003e – Explore his claim that our sense of rationality is partly a feeling.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRoom for real choice\u003c\/strong\u003e – Test his case against rigid determinism, and consider what chance means for freedom.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe demands of others\u003c\/strong\u003e – Consider an ethics that asks how we respond to what other people need.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePeople who shape history\u003c\/strong\u003e – In Great Men and Their Environment, meet James’s challenge to Herbert Spencer’s account of social change.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers wrestling with faith and doubt, students of philosophy or psychology, and anyone curious about the beginnings of American pragmatism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page now, and bring your own doubts to the conversation.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534667481436,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/00825_en_ebook-front_c04.jpg?v=1792175032","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/products\/the-will-to-believe-and-other-essays-in-popular-philosophy","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}