9. 20th century perspectives

Question 1

Karl popper dates

Answer 1

1902-1994

Question 2

Karl popper and falsification

Answer 2

• opposed LP
• f= point that a proposition is scientific if one can state what evidence would prove it wrong
• this=principle of demarcation between scientific n unscientific, not the meaningful/meaningless
• if we believe science is all about proving r views to be true then we would make no progress at all
• its not for determining meaning but scientific asssertion
• he didnt deny RL has meaning, j that its not scientfiic
• things like marxism and psychiatry are meaningless because they are unfalsifiable: based on ways to prove themselves true, not false.
• a claim/belief is falsifiable if we can imagine what would prove it false

Question 3

Content for 20th century:

Answer 3

• logical positivism
• Wittgenstein’s views on language games and forms of life
• discussion about the factual quality of religious
  language in the falsification symposium

Question 4

content for religious language: negative, analogical, symbolic

Answer 4

• the apophatic way – the via negativa
• cataphatic way – the via positiva
• symbol

Question 5

VP - criticisms - Hick

Answer 5

talk of God might be verifiable in principle. We may not be able to know and have convincing evidence for God now, but we may in the future. The whole idea of final judgement implies that God will be seen and known, Hick calls this, “eschatological verification”.

Question 6

VP - critisicm

Answer 6

D.Z. Phillips