The Ethics of Belief

By William Kingdon Clifford

Editor’s Note: William Kingdon Clifford was a 19th-century English mathematician and philosopher. In this essay, “The Ethics of Belief,” originally published in 1877, he argues that “it is wrong always, everywhere and for any one, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” The essay beautifully fleshes out Clifford’s case for this position, and I …