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Full Idea
He that believes, without having any reason for believing, may be in love with his own fancies.
Gist of Idea
Believing without a reason may just be love of your own fantasies
Source
John Locke (Essay Conc Human Understanding (2nd Ed) [1694], 4.17.24)
Book Ref
Locke,John: 'Essay Concerning Human Understanding', ed/tr. Nidditch,P.H. [OUP 1979], p.687
A Reaction
This comes close to Clifford's Principle, though he demands 'evidence', rather than a reason. Of course, the supposed 'reason' may be just as much of a fantasy as the belief!
Related Idea
Idea 6587 It is always wrong to believe things on insufficient evidence [Clifford]
| 1923 | As a guide to action, true opinion is as good as knowledge [Plato] |
| 2140 | True belief without knowledge is like blind people on the right road [Plato] |
| 174 | True opinion without reason is midway between wisdom and ignorance [Plato] |
| 2089 | An inadequate rational account would still not justify knowledge [Plato] |
| 8331 | To know something we need understanding, which is grasp of the primary cause [Aristotle] |
| 22759 | Fools, infants and madmen may speak truly, but do not know [Sext.Empiricus] |
| 19517 | Believing without a reason may just be love of your own fantasies [Locke] |
| 12898 | Justification is neither sufficient nor necessary for knowledge [Lewis] |
| 8811 | What we want to know is - when is it all right to believe something? [Pollock] |
| 19734 | If value is practical, knowledge is no better than true opinion [Greco] |
| 6800 | Many philosophers rate justification as a more important concept than knowledge [Bird] |
| 19539 | If knowledge is unanalysable, that makes justification more important [Dougherty/Rysiew] |