Belief's Own Ethics. . - New Books - book review

Belief's Own Ethics. Jonathan E. Adler. The MIT Press, 5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 021421493. 2002. ISBN 0-262-01192. 357 pp. $40, hardcover. A philosophy professor (Brooklyn College and CUNY) presents a new approach to the ethics of belief (what one ought to believe) based on the concept of belief itself rather than on the rationality of one's beliefs.

In the traditional view of "evidentialism," the strength of one's beliefs should be proportionate to the evidence. Here Adler offers a strengthened version of evidentialism, arguing that the ethics of belief should be rooted in the concept of belief. He addresses such questions as irrational beliefs, reasonableness, control over beliefs, and whether justfiying beliefs requires a foundation.

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