Eschatological verification Flashcards
Who is eschatological verification associated with?
John Hick
Who is John Hick?
An English philosopher of religion and theologian
In what book does John Hick introduce Eschatological verification?
Faith and knowledge (1966)
What was eschatological verification written as a response to?
Logical positivism
What is logical positivism?
Logical positivism is the idea that meaningful statements must either be empirically verifiable or logically necessary, dismissing ideas that can’t be tested or proven
What is eschatological verification?
A statement that can be verified after death, or at the end of time
According to John Hick, what is his stance on the empirically verifiable nature of the statement “God exists” in this life?
According to John Hick, he agrees with Ayer and Flew that “God exists” is not empirically verifiable in this life
How does Hick differ from Ayer and Flew regarding religious claims and empirical verification?
Hick differs from Ayer and Flew by arguing that religious claims about things beyond human life are falsifiable and can be verified after death
What does Hick argue about the falsifiability of religious claims, and how does he propose they can be falsified?
Hick argues that religious claims are falsifiable because they can be verified in the afterlife; if “God exists” is true, it can be verified after death.
To illustrate that religious claims are falsifiable, what does Hick utilise?
The parable of the celestial city
Summarise the parable of the celestial city
In the celestial city parable by John Hick, two travelers represent a theist and an atheist. The theist believes the road leads to a celestial city, while the atheist sees the journey as meaningless
Summarise Hick’s eschatological verification
Hick says “God exists” is not necessarily meaningless, because it is eschatologically verifiable:
If “God exists” is true, then it can be verified after we die
But if “God exists” is false, then it is unfalsifiable
What is a strength of eschatological verification in relation to Christianity?
Hick’s argument fits with Christian theology. He believed in the possibility of physical resurrection, for example. Hick was a pluralist however, he believed different religions were different cultural manifestations of human awareness of the same higher divine reality.
Why can’t eschatological verification work to verify all religious views? (weakness)
Hick’s argument only works if we assume a physical or spiritual view of the afterlife. Some Christians have a radically liberal view that the afterlife is only symbolic/psychological. There are some religions that think the afterlife involves reincarnation where you forget your previous life. So, eschatological verification cannot work to verify all religious views.
