Rick Werner, the John Stewart Kennedy Professor of Philosophy, presented a paper, "The Right to Hope and the Ethics of Belief," at the 21st Annual Conference of Concerned Philosophers for Peace at SUNY Cortland, Oct. 30-Nov. 2.
Following William James, Werner argues that while we are generally obliged by the ethics of belief to hold only those beliefs for which there is the strongest evidence, warranted hope in specific contexts can provide an important exception especially when such hope contains a self-fulfilling prophecy that may yield large benefits. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, gave the keynote address at the conference.
Following William James, Werner argues that while we are generally obliged by the ethics of belief to hold only those beliefs for which there is the strongest evidence, warranted hope in specific contexts can provide an important exception especially when such hope contains a self-fulfilling prophecy that may yield large benefits. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, gave the keynote address at the conference.
