Philosophy 2

TheCritical Writing Assignment 2

Due at the end of Module Six

For this assignment, please revisit and review Clifford’s evidentialist argument from Module 2
and then contrast Clifford’s position with one of the nonevidentialist positions encountered in
either Module 5 or Module 6. Decide which position, evidentialism or nonevidentialism, more
closely aligns with your own point of view and argue for that position.

Make sure to submit the Critical Writing Assignment 1 no later than Sunday 11:59 PM
EST/EDT. (This Dropbox basket is linked to Turnitin.)

PHI 110RS

Critical Writing Assignment Guidelines & Rubric

There will be two (2) critical writing assignments. Topics for each writing assignment are in Module 3
(Assignment 1) and Module 6 (Assignment 2).

Some generic requirements to be observed for all Writing Assignments include that all papers must:
• Defend a thesis and should proceed according to the following format: Thesis, Argument, Objection(s),
Response(s), Conclusion

• Include citations to the primary required class readings. These and any additional sources must be
properly cited using MLA format.

• Fall within the following length requirements: 1200-1500 words.

• Use a standard 10-12 pt. font and be double spaced.

Critical Writing Assignments 1 and 2 are due no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Modules 3
and 6 respectively. (These Dropbox baskets are linked to Turnitin.)

Information on MLA Citation style can be found here: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

SEE RUBRIC ON NEXT PAGE

TOTAL: ___ / 120

Elements

Criteria

Score

Not Attempted
(Criterion is

missing or not in
evidence)

0-11.99%

Novice
(does not meet
expectations;

performance is
substandard)
12-13.99%

Basic
(works towards

meeting expectations;
performance needs

improvement)
14-15.99%

Proficient
(meets expectations;

performance is
satisfactory)

16-17.99%

Exemplary
(exceeds expectations;

performance is
outstanding)

18-20%

Paper Topic

16.66%

Paper contains
no thesis and/or

does not
address the

essay prompt.

Thesis is difficult
to discern and/or
fails to address
multiple parts of

the essay prompt.

Thesis is discernible,
but not explicitly

stated in introductory
paragraph and/or

addresses most, but
not all, of parts of the

essay prompt.

Thesis statement is
present in introductory

paragraph, but it is wordy,
generic or unclear and/or
paper addresses all parts
of the essay prompt, but

not adequately.

Thesis statement is
present in introductory

paragraph. It is concise,
articulate, and narrowly

focused. Paper
adequately addresses all
parts of the essay prompt.

__/20

Length
Requirements

16.66%

There was little
or no evidence
of a complete
assignment.

Paper is entirely
too short.

Paper contains a
great deal of “fluff”

and still doesn’t meet
the length

requirements

Paper is on the short side
or meets requirements

only because it contains
“fluff.”

Paper falls within the
required length

requirements without
going off topic.

__/20

Mechanics of
Writing
16.66%

Little to no
evidence of

proper writing
mechanics.

The grammar of
the paper greatly

impedes
understanding of

content.
Organizational

structure is
unclear.

Paper needs a good
deal of improvement

with respect to
grammar, spelling,

and/or style.
Organization and/or
flow of ideas need

improvement.

Paper is mostly free of
errors with respect to

grammar, spelling, and/or
style, but needs some

improvement.
Organizational structure

is adequate.

Paper is nearly perfect
with respect to grammar,

spelling, and style.
Organizational structure
is clear and the paper

flows nicely.

__/20

Conceptual
Analysis &
Thoughtful

Engagement
16.66%

Paper exhibits a
complete lack of

thoughtful
engagement with

the text.
Concepts are

identified, but not
clearly defined.
No attempt to

elaborate/
exemplify.

Paper exhibits
very little
thoughtful

engagement with
the text. Few
concepts are

clearly defined
using

elaboration/

exemplification.

Paper exhibits basic
engagement with text,

but needs
improvement. Some
concepts are clearly

defined using
elaboration/

exemplification,

Paper exhibits thoughtful
understanding of the text,
but some improvement
needed. Most concepts
are clearly defined using

elaboration/
exemplification.

Paper does an excellent
job demonstrating an

accurate understanding of
the text and goes beyond

mere summary.
All relevant concepts are

clearly defined using
elaboration/

exemplification.

__/20

Points of View/
Consideration
of Objections

16.66%

Paper does not
acknowledge the

existence of
alternative points

of view. Does
not state

objections to
thesis.

Acknowledges
existence of more

than point of view,
but does not clear

articulate a
specific objection

and respond.

Acknowledges
existence of more

than point of view, but
considers only one.

States a specific
objection to thesis,
but makes no clear
attempt to respond.

Acknowledges existence
of more than point of

view. States at least one
objection to thesis and
responds, but needs
some improvement.

Acknowledges existence
of more than point of

view. Clearly and
articulately states at least

one objection to thesis
and then adequately

responds to the objection.

__/20

MLA
Style/Citations

16.66%

Paper lacks both
in-text citations
and a proper

works cited list.

Paper lacks either
in-text citations or

a proper works
cited list, but not

both.

Paper contains in-text
citations and a works
cited list, but does not

follow MLA style.

Paper contains in-text
citations and a works
cited list, but several

stylistic errors are
present.

Paper contains proper in-
text citations and a works

cited list. Few stylistic
errors are present.

__/20

HSA 6175 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH SYSTEMS

ASSIGNMENT 2

1. Given below is a list of account balances for Dade Hospital as of December 31, 2016. Prepare a balance sheet as of December 31, 2016, in proper form. (Hint: You will need to compute the net assets account. Assume that all net assets at the beginning of the year are unrestricted.)

Account

Balance

Gross plant & equipment

$6,000,000

Accounts payable

130,000

Inventories

100,000

Other current liabilities

70,000

Net accounts receivable

650,000

Accrued expenses

100,000

Accumulated depreciation

200,000

Long-term debt

5,000,000

Cash

210,000

2. Below is a list of accounts for Dade Hospital for December 2016 (annual amounts). Prepare a statement of operations for 2016 in good form.

Account

Amount

Administrative expenses

$80,000

Net assets released from temporarily restricted accounts for operations

120,000

Labor expense

260,000

Interest expense

12,000

Net patient service revenue

840,000

Supply expense

88,000

Transfer to parent corporation

10,000

Bad debt expense

40,000

Depreciation expense

50,000

Rubrics:

Submissions of all problems: 50%

Problem 1 25%

Problem 2 25%

Unit 0: An Introduction to Thinking Critically

Module 1 – Logic and Critical Thinking

Readings: Solomon and Higgins, “A Little Logic”; Solomon and Higgins, “Deductive Logic Valid
Argument Forms”; Solomon and Higgins, “Common Informal Fallacies”

Unit 1: The Real and the Rational

Module 2 – Evidentialism

Reading: Clifford, “The Ethics of Belief’

Module 3 – Classical Theistic Arguments

Readings: Anselm, “The Ontological Argument”; Thomas Aquinas, “The Five Ways”; Rowe, “An
Examination of the Cosmological Argument”; Paley, “The Watch and the Watchmaker”; Collins,
“A Scientific Argument for the Existence of God”

Module 4 – Problem of Evil

Readings: Mackie, “Evil and Omnipotence”; Plantinga, “The Free Will Defense”; Hick, “Evil and
Soul-Making”; Rowe, “The Inductive Argument from Evil Against the Existence of God”

Unit 2 – Experience and the Real

Module 5 – Pragmatism and Reformed Epistemology

Readings: Pascal, “The Wager”; James, “Will to Believe”; Bergmann, “Rational Religious Belief
without Arguments”

Module 6 – Existentialism and Mysticism

Readings: Kierkegaard, “Truth is Subjectivity”; Selections of Mystical Experiences, James,
“Mysticism”; Alston, “Perceiving God”

Unit 3 – Paths to the Real

Module 7 – Problem of Religious Diversity I

Readings: Dalai Lama, “Buddhism, Christianity, and the Prospects for World Religion”; Hick,
“Religious Pluralism and Ultimate Reality”

Module 8 – Problem of Religious Diversity II

Readings: Plantinga, “A Defense of Religious Exclusivism”; Basinger, “Hick’s Religious Pluralism
and ‘Reformed Epistemology’-A Middle Ground”

R Dean Davenport
Highlight

U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 107

Fair Use, Educational Purpose

498 PART VII• FAITH AND REASON

VII.A.2

The Ethics of Belief
W. K. CLIFFORD

W. K. Clifford (1845-1879) was a British philosopher and mathematician. The selection
that follows is perhaps his best known and most widely discussed philosophical essay.
Clijford argues that there is an ethics to belief that makes it always wrong for anyone to
believe anything on insufficient evidence. Pragmatic justifications are not justifications at all
but counteifeits !if genuine justifications, which must always be based on evidence.

A shipowner was about to send to sea an emigrant
ship. He knew that she was old, and not over-well
built at the first; that she had seen many seas and
climes, and often had needed repairs. Doubts had
been suggested to him that possibly she was not
seaworthy. These doubts preyed upon his mind
and made him unhappy; he thought that perhaps
he ought to have her thoroughly overhauled and
refitted, even though this should put him to great
expense. Before the ship sailed, however, he suc-
ceeded in overcoming these melancholy reflec-
tions. He said to himself that she had gone safely
through so many voyages and weathered so many
storms that it was idle to suppose she would not
come safely home from this trip also. He would
put his trust in Providence, which could hardly
fail to protect all these unhappy families that were
leaving their fatherland to seek for better times
elsewhere. He would dismiss from his mind all
ungenerous suspicions about the honesty of
builders and contractors. In such ways he acquired
a sincere and comfortable conviction that his vessel
was thoroughly safe and seaworthy; he watched
her departure with a light heart, and benevolent
wishes for the success ofthe,exiles in their strange
new home that was to be; and he got his insurance

Reprinted from W. K. Clifford, Lecmrers and R

money when she went down in midocean and told
no tales.

What shall we say of him? Surely this, that he
was verily guilty of the death of those men. It is
admitted that he did sincerely believe in the sound-
ness of his ship; but the sincerity of his conviction
can in no wise to help him, because he had no right
to believe on such evidence as was before him. He
had acquired his belief not by honestly earning it in
patient investigation, but by stifling his doubts. And
although in the end he may have felt so sure about
it that he could not think otherwise, yet inasmuch
as he had knowingly and willingly worked himself
into that frame of mind, he must be held responsi-
ble for it.

Let us alter the case a little, and suppose that
the ship was not unsound after all; that she made
her voyage safely, and many others after it. Wil1
that diminish the guilt of her owner? Not one jot.
When an action is once done, it is right or wrong
forever; no accidental failure of its good or evil
fruits can possibly alter that. The man would not
have been innocent, he would only have been not
found out. The question of right or wrong has to
do with the origin of his belief, not the matter of
it; not what it was, but how he got it; not whether

it turned out to be true .or .false,• but whether· he
had a right to believe on sQch evidence. as was
before him.

There was’once an island in which some ofthe
inhabitants professed a religion teaching neither the
doctrine of original sin nor .that of eternal punish~
ment. ·A suspicion got abroad that thtr professors .of
this. religion had made use of Qnfair means to get
their doctrines taught to children, They were
accused of wresting the laws .of their country in
su.ch ·a way asto remove children fron:i the care of
their iutural and legal: guardians; and even of steal~
ing ·them away and. keeping them concealed .from
their friends and relations. A certain nuniber of men
formed themselves into a society forthe purpose Of
agita(ing. the public about this matter. They pub'””
lished grave accusations against individual citizens of
the highest position and character, and did alL in
their power to injure those citizetisdn the exercise
of their professions~ So great Was: the· noise ·they
made, that a Commission was appointed to investi-
gate the facts; but after the Commission had care …
fully. inquired into all the .evidence that. could. be
got, it . appeare.d • that :the.· accused were innocent.
Not only had they been accused ·on insufficient
evidence, but the :evidence of their :innocence was
such .as the agitators might ·easily have obtained, .if
they: had attempted a fait inquiry. After these dis.,.
closures the inhabitants of· that country looked
upon the members of. the agitating society, not
only as persons whose judgment was to :be dis-
trusted;.butalso·as no

Let us vary this case also,. and suppose, other
things remaining as before, thata stillmore accurate
investigation proved the accused to have been really
guilty; Would this make any difference in the guilt
of the accusers? Clearly ·not; the . question. is .·not
whether their beliefwas true or false, but whether
they entertained it on wrong grounds. They·would
no do.ubt say, “Now you see that we were right

W. K. CLIFf,O~D ~·TH~ ETHICSOF .. BEliH 499

after :all;:next tinle•perhaps you will believe us:
And they, might be. believed, but they wouldmot
thereby become. honorable .. men. !They:wouldnot
be ,innocent, they would ohly: be. not :found out.
Every.one .o£ them, if lie chose .to, examine himself
in foro ionscietitiae,.would knowth,at l:le had acquired
and nourished· a :belief, ·when .he

It may be .saiq, however; that: in both of these
supposed cases itis not the beliefwhidi i’sjudgedto
be wrong; but the action following•:upon it, The
shipowner might say, ”I am perfectly certain that
my ship is sound, but still I feeUt my duty to
have her examined, before trusting the lives .of so
many people to her.” And it might be said to the
agitator, “However conviHcedyou were ofthejus-
tice.ofyour cause and the truth of your convictions,
you ought not to have. nude a public· attack upon
aHy man’s ,characte.r until. you had ·examihed. :the
evidenae on. both ·sides .with ·the .utmost patience
and care.~’

;Jn the .. first place; .let us·admit that, so far as it
goes, this ·view of the, case is. right and necessary;
right, because even when.a man~s.beliefis•so fixed
that he•cannot think otherwise~. he:still has a choice
in· regard. to the action• suggested by it; and so •can”‘
Hob escape the duty of investigating on the ground
of the strength of his convictions; •and necessary,
because those who ·are• not yet aapable of control~
ling their feelings. and thoughts . must have a plain
rule dealing with overt acts.

But this being premised as necessary, it becomes
cleat that it is not sufficient, ,and that our previous
judghlent is required to supplement it, for it. is not
possibbso to sever the belieffromthe action.:it sug-
gests as to cond~rrin the

Nor is thattiulya beliefatall which.hasnotsome
influence iupon the ·actions .. of him·. who holds it;

500 PART VII o FAITH AND REASON

He who”tnily believes.that·which promptsLhimto
an action has looked upon the: action to .lust• after it;
he has wmmitted it already in• his heart. IH belief is
not.· realized immediately in openideeds; it is·stored
tlp for’the guidance ofthe futureAt goes to make a
part of that· aggregate ·of beliefS whichds the link
between sensation ·and action at eveiy. moment of
all our.Ii’ves, and which is so; organized ·and com-‘
pacted togetl:l:er tnat no part of it can be’ isolated
from tile rest, but every new addition modifies
tile structure of the whole, No real belief, however
trifling and fragmentary! it· ‘may seem; is ever truly
insignificant; ,it prepares us to receive more of itS
like, confinns those which resembled it .before,
and weakens others; and so gradually it lays a
stealthy train in. our inmost thoughts, which may
some .day explode into overt action, and leave its
stamp :upon our :cllaracter forever.

. And no one man’s: belief is in any case a private
matter which concems himself alone~. :Our lives are
guided by that general·conceptiontof the course of
things which:has been. created by society for social
purposes. Our words, our phrases, our fonns imd
processes and ri1odes of thought are common prop-
erty, fashioned and perfected from agerto-age; an
heirloom whiCh\ every succeeding generation inher-
its as a• pr:edous deposit and· a: sacred’ trust to be
handed on to the next one,. n:ot unchanged • but
enlarged and: purifi:ed;’with some dear’ marks ofits
proper ·handiwork. :Into this,.· for good ar ill, ‘is
woven every’ belief of every• man· who ·has speech
of his fellows. 1An awful privilege, and an awful
responsibility, that we should help to

In the• two· supposed cases which have been
considered, it has been judged wrong to believe
on insufficient evidence, or to nourish belief by
suppressing · doubts and avoiding investigation.
The reason ofthis judgment is .not fur to seek: it
is that in both these cases the belief held by one
man .was of greaFimportailce to other ‘men. But
for.as much·aS no•beliefheld byone•man, however
seemingly ·trivial the· belief, and howeveF obscure
the believer,• is ever a

the decisions ofour will; and knits into harmonious
working all the compacted energies of OU): being, is
ours not for ourselves, but for humanity. It is rightly
used. on truthn:vhidr have been established by long
experience and waiting toil, and. which have stood
in the fierce light of free and· fearless questioning.
Then it -helps to hind men together, ‘)md to
strengthen • and direct ·their common action. It is
desecrated when given to unproved and unques:.:
tioned ·statements; for the solace. and private· plea-
sure of tile believer; to add -a tinsel splendor to the
plain straight read of out lifer andi display a· bright
mirage beyond it; or even· to drown the common
sorrows oL our kind by a self-deception• which
allows them not only to cast down, but also to
degrade us. Whoso would deserve well of. his fel..:.
lows in this matter will guard the purity of this
belief with a very fanaticiSm ofjealous care, lest at
any time it should- rest on an unworthy object, and
catch a stain which can nevet be· wiped away.

It is· not only · the leader of men, statesman;
philosopher or poet, that owes this bounden duty
to mankind: Every rustic who delivers.in:tile village
alehouse • his slow; infrequent sentences; tnay help
to kill1 or keep alive the fatal superstitions which
dog his race. Every hard:..worked wife of an artisan
may transmit to her children beliefs which’ shall knit
society together, ar rend itinpieces. No simplicity
of:rnirid, no’ obscurity of- station, can escape the
universal duty.: of questioning all that we believe.

It is true that this duty is a hard one; and the
doubt which comes out of it’is often a very bitter
thing, ‘It leaves us bare and powerless where we
thought that we were safe and strong, To know
all· about anything is· to know how to deal with· it
under all circumstances; We feel·much happier and
more secure when- we ·think·we knaw’-precisely
what to do, no matter ‘what happens, than :when
we have lost our way and do not know where to
turn … And if we have supposed· ourselves .. to know
all.about anything, and: to be capable of doing what
is’ fit inregard:to

~-
‘

‘ •.
‘

knowledge that makes men desirous of believing,
and· afraid ofdoubting;

This sense of power is the highest’and best. Of
pleasures when the belief on which it is founded is a
tr:ue belief, and has been fairly earned. by investiga-
tion, For then we may justly feel that itis common
property, and holds good:Jor, others as wellas for
ourselves. Then we may Jc,e glad, m~t that I ·have
learned secrets by, which Lam, safer and stronger,
but that we men have got mastery ovei:. more .of
the world; and we shall be strong, not for ourselves,
but in the name of Man and in his strength. But if
the belief has been accepted on insufficient evidence,
the pleasure is a stolen one. Not only does it deceive
ourselves by giving us a sense of power which we do
not really possess, but it is sinful, because it is stolen
in defiance of our duty to mankind. That duty is to
guard ourselves from such beliefs as from a pesti-
lence, which may shortly master our own body
and then spread to the rest of the town. What
would be thought of one who, for the ·sake of a
sweet fruit, should deliberately run the risk of bring-
ing a plague upon his family and his neighbors?

And, as in other such cases, it is not the risk only
which has to be considered; for a bad action is always
bad at the time when it is done, no matter what
happens afterwards. Every tin1e we let ourselves
believe for unworthy reasons, we weaken our
powers of self-control, of doubting, of judicially
and fairly weighing evidence. We all suffer severely
enough from the maintenance and support of false
belie& and the fatally wrong actions which they lead
to, and the evil born when one such belief is enter-
tained is great and wide. But a greater and wider evil
arises when the credulous character is maintained
and supported, when a habit of believing for unwor-
thy reasons is fostered and made permanent. If I steal
money from any person, there may be no harm
done by the mere transfer of possession; he may
not feel the loss, or it may prevent him from using
the money badly. But I cannot help doing this great
wrong towards Man, that I make myself dishonest.
What hurts society is not that it should lose its prop-
erty, but that it should become a den of thieves; for
then it must cease to be society. This is why we
ought not to do evil that good may com~;Jor at

W. K. CLIFFO.RD •·THE ETHI.CSOFcBEl”IH 501

any ·this great :evil’ has i.:ome, that we :have
done evil and are made wicked thereby.lnJike map~
ner, i£ L)et,myself. believe anything bn. insufficient
evidence;·there ma)l be no great harm dqne.by.the
mere belief;• it maybe: true after all, or. I. may.never
have occasion· to exhibit i~.in outward acts. ;BuLl
cannot help doing, this great wrong toward Mah;
that I make myself credulous, The danger to society
is• not merely that it should believe·wrongthings,
though that is • great enough; but that it .should
become credulous, and lose the habit of testing
things and inquiring into them; for then it must
sink back into savagery.

The harm which is done by credulity in a man is
not confined to the fostering of a credulous character
in others, and consequent support of false belie&.
Habitual want of care about what I believe leads to
habitual want of care in others about the truth
of what is told to me. Men speak the truth to one
another when each reveres the truth in his own mind
and in the other’s mind; but how shall my friend
revere the truth in my mind when I myself am care-
less about it, when I believe things because I want to
believe them, and because they are comforting and
pleasant? Will he not learn to cry, “Peace,” to me,
when there is no peace? By such a course I shall sur-
round myself with a thick atmosphere of falsehood
and fraud, and in that must live. It may matter little to
me, in my closed castle of sweet illusions and darling
lies; but it matters much to Man that I have made my
neighbors ready to deceive. The credulous man is
father to the liar and the cheat; he lives in the
bosom of this his family, and it is no marvel if he
should become even as they are. So closely are our
duties knit together, that whoso shall keep the whole
law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

To sum up: it is wrong always, everywhere and
for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient
evidence.

If a man, holding a belief which he was taught
in childhood or persuaded of afterWards, keeps
down and pushes away any doubts which arise
about it in his mind, purposely avoids the reading
of books and the company of men that call in
question or discuss it, and regards as impious those
qu~stions. which .car1not easily .be asked ~itf10ut

502 PARFVII ·~f’AITHAND REASON

disturbing it-i-:-the life .of; that man .is one long sin
against mankind.

If this judgment seems. harsh when· applied. to
thos~’ simple soulS who have ‘never known better,
who· have been brought up from the,cradfe ·with a
horror ofdoubt;’and taught thattheir eternal welfu-e
dependsonwhatthey believe;then itleads’tothe very
serious questipn; Who hath made Israel tO’ sin? ..

Ihquiryinto the evidence of adoctrineis not to
be made once for all; and then· taken as finally

settled.k ismeverlawfulto stifle a dotibti for either
it can be honestly answered by means ofthe iiiquiry
already made, or else. it proves that• the inqurry was
not complete’

“But,’;’says one, 1’lam a·busy· rnan; ;[ have•no
time’ for the long courserof s~udy which would; be
necessary to make me in any degree· a competent
judge of certain que~tions,cor even able to•under;..
standthe nature of the argtiments.”,Thenhe should
have no time to.believe:.:.