Austin Fontaine 
Megan Novelli As we learned in class James seems to have downplayed the role of the intellect quite significantly. I’m not going to out and out disagree with him because I think there are definitely areas of life in which we lose quite a bit when we rely solely on the intellect. However, his message scares me more than a little. The specific part I am referring to is “To preach skepticism…is tantamount therefore to telling us that yielding to our fear of error is wiser and better than yielding to our hope that it may be true.” This quote refers directly to religion, but he doesn’t seem to mean for it to be irrelevant to life in general. Is that true? Should we really vest more in hope than our intellects? Obviously, I don’t think he believes the intellect to be worthless, but I still think we should think heavily before we emphasize hope over intellect.
It is necessary for every person to construct a worldview, if they don’t they probably won’t function. Constructing a worldview centered around hope can be dangerous. I’ve done a lot of things with hope as the primary motivator and I regret nearly all of them. Had I thought through my decisions I would have found that certain failures were the most likely outcome. Almost all of those potential failures have turned out to be the reality. Had I “yieled to error” I can see where my life would be today, and it would be better. Situations in which an individual has a lot at stake aren’t to be taken lightly and if people don’t take into account the likely outcomes then a great percentage of the time they become wasteful and unsatisfied. I don’t want to downplay that hope is a powerful force and a great way to be, I just want to challenge the notion that it is a great mistake to yield to error.
Jeremiah Blalock
8:08 am, 10.25.10
I agree with what you are saying, James is a very bright person however i would actually think that it would be the later. I think there is a difference in having Faith in something and Hope, as well there is by definition but also in regards to why we would use the terms. If I have Hope in something, that means I know that it can fail and there is either an equal or greater chance of failure, so I am gonna lean towards success and want the best with all my heart. However, Faith is when you BELIEVE in something, and even if there may be no physical evidence you KNOW it is there for you, with you, and by you. I guess what I’m getting at is that if James had said Faith instead of Hope, I may have been more apt to be on his side, however since he did not I still feel that thinking through everything in the presence of facts and stats vs me just wanting something to go down the way I want it is no contest, you must always think before you leap.
Jordan Johnson
8:45 am, 10.25.10
I find myself always wondering whether there really is a God. There is no proof of such a being at least not from my scientific stand point but if there is not then all hope is lost at death. It has actually angered me when my mind will not allow me to let go the facts and believe in something out side the box and your quote explains that perfectly. I dont know why the human mind seeks the truth even in things that obviously cant be explained nor proven to exist in the first place. It seems that all we have sometimes is hope or no hope! Great post, thank you!