Summary
As in any essay or doctrine, there is a thesis statement and systematic proofs that support and reinforce that thesis. In William James's 1896 lecture, The Will To Believe, the thesis is that belief, or faith, is a valid way of perceiving the world, absent empirical support. Belief here is treated in a religious context. In his lecture, belief in God and the doctrinal dogmas attached to a particular religion (e.g., Christianity posits belief in God and offers the dogma of Jesus as Messiah and his death/resurrection to rid humanity of sin) are argued to be necessary for the pursuit of Truth. James postulates that there are certain phenomena in the world that cannot be understood by mere "intellectual" means but necessitate "passional" means.
There are metaphysical questions that humans have asked since the dawn of consciousness: For example, what is the origin of the universe? Where do we go when we die? James argues that reason and logic can only provide so much insight into these fundamental questions. The "passional nature," or intuition and faith, must intercede because they offer a broad scope of knowledge. The reason why the "passional nature" as means to Truth is so hotly criticized is that it is, as yet, immeasurable by current science.
It's also important to mention that James's lecture is in reaction to a concept called evidentialism. Evidentialism is an epistemological (the philosophy of knowledge) concept that states that one cannot hold a belief without first having evidence that supports that belief. In The Will to Reason, James offers a counterargument to this absolutist idea.
James goes on to offer proofs that support this central theme of belief as valid. His two main proofs are hypothesis venturing and self-fulfilling beliefs. Hypothesis venturing is when evidence is given after a belief is already held. For example, the concept of Free Will is a hypothesis venture. Then, a self-fulfilling belief is something that inherently gives evidence because it exists. An example of a self-fulfilling belief is deciding to love someone.
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