(October 30, 2018 at 6:55 pm)bennyboy Wrote: It seems to me that faith which leads to action is likely to benefit most people greatly. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
I'd say the ethical problem is in binding unwilling participants to your own acts of faith, where logic indicates that danger is involved. People shouldn't be allowed to do this.
Your post reminds me of a counterargument to Clifford offered by William James in his essay "The Will to Believe." James argues that faith works much by the same mechanics as "nothing ventured, nothing gained." But he asserts this carefully. He is quick to point out that one's personal religious revelation is best imposed upon oneself; it is misguided and wrongheaded to impose it upon others.
