Teacher Morris then modifies classic evidentialism with the introduction of another defined category of belief:
Evidence receptive belief=(by definition)A belief for which evidence is possible.
Applied to classic evidentialism, the addition yeilds
Modified Evidentialism: It is irrational for anyone, anywhere, at any time, to hold any evidence receptive belief without sufficient evidence.
This is more credible in that non-evidence-receptive beliefs (such as The Principle of Belief Conservation)are exempt from the universal demand for evidence. Yet Modified Evidentialism will not work if there are any evidence-receptive beliefs which can be reasonably held without sufficient evidence.
William James, 19th century Harvard philosopher/psychologist, believed
That there is one kind of receptive evidence belief that it is rational to have in the absence of sufficient evidence. He thought that it can be held on the basis of a certain sort of rational faith. Is believing without proof or sufficient evidence the same thing as faith? (p.77)
In his famous essay The Will to Believe, James points out that there are two different approaches to life and belief: negative and positive. The negative approach is based on the fear of making a mistake, and it enjoins caution. The negative approach advises not taking risks (like when I took the backseat, handing my mother and my aunt the burden of driving). :-[ The negative approach is miserly regarding beliefs.
The positive approach, on the other hand, is generous regarding belief. It is a more positive approach to life and a belief that "advises venturing forth, trying new things, having new experiences, and positioning yourself for great discoveries." James believed that, in order to apprehend some truths, we have to meet reality halfway, with an open mind receptive to new truths.
Writes Morris,
Sometimes something like the positive state of belief, however tentative, helps to create a situation in which evidence is more likely to be forthcoming. In such circumstances, it is not more rational to wait on the evidence before granting a measure of belief, but it is rational to launch out with what James called precursive belief, faith that, etymologically, "Runs ahead of the evidence." (p.78)
Therefore, advises William James, "Believe that life is worth living and your belief will create the fact."
This applies well to the pivotal year in my life: 1984 (a Year of the Rat). At the start of the year, I was nursing my physical and mental injuries following my August 1983 suicide attempt at Georgetown. I began swimming at Manoa Pool for exercise and lost twenty pounds, picking up a pretty awesome tan. By cutting way back on caffeinated coffee, I ceased excessive perspiration, and this did wonders for my self-perception.
In the seventeenth-century English literature class I was taking to get back into the academic groove, English 454, I was overwhelmed by the enlightened writing I encountered, and was first exposed to Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan. As I wrote my essay on it, I felt like a reborn man opening up to a new world- a new world that I would enlighten by explicating Hobbes' words. :-\I focused on this period of time in My Quest: A Retrospective Journal (my first manuscript, published for a fee :-\) and I would later like to analyze my essay with the tools we collect.
Returning now to precursive faith,
James discovered that championship level endeavor in any sport was typically based on precursive faith. Champions are regularly challenged to do something they've never done before- climb a new mountain, wrestle a new opponent, break a new world's record. If they just look at the evidence they have concerning their past performances, it will never be sufficient to prove that they are up to the new challenge and will prevail. But James came to realize that what sets champions apart is their ability to engage in precursive faith and launch out with belief that runs ahead of the available evidence, believing in themselves up front. (p. 78)
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