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Is Believing Without Evidence Morally Wrong?

Debate Information

Nearly 150 years ago the philosopher William Kingdon Clifford said it is morally wrong for 3 reasons:

Our beliefs influence our actions. False beliefs about physical or social facts lead us into poor habits of action that in the most extreme cases could threaten our survival. When we believe something, the stakes are very high.
Poor practices of belief-formation turn us into careless, credulous believers. Translating Clifford’s warning to our interconnected times, what he tells us is that careless believing turns us into easy prey for fake-news pedlars, conspiracy theorists, and charlatans. And letting ourselves become hosts to these false beliefs is morally wrong because the error cost for society can be devastating.
In our capacity as communicators of belief, we have the moral responsibility not to pollute the well of collective knowledge. Adding false beliefs is immoral because everyone’s lives ultimately rely on common knowledge.