James’s “The Will to Believe”

James says that questions of religious faith are ‘forced’. What does he mean by this?

James also talks about the great rewards, or ‘a certain vital good’, that is at stake with questions of religious faith. What, according to James, are these rewards? Keep your eyes peeled for where he says what these are.

James talks about how faith can, in some cases, help to create a fact. What are the examples James gives of this. Can you think of other examples? How does this apply to questions of religious faith?

If we have a question in which the evidence seems equally strong on both sides, when should we, according to James, stand on the sidelines awaiting more data and when should we instead go ahead and commit to the belief despite the lack of good evidence? Can you think of any case, real or imaginary, where you should believe something even if you have no evidence for it?