Falsifiability

Question 1

What is the falsification principle

Answer 1

The idea that scientific claims are only valid and meaningful if they are falsifiable-open and able to be proven wrong

Question 2

Who developed it

Answer 2

Karl Popper

Question 3

What is falsification

Answer 3

A concept that is able to be proven false-gives us knowledge either way

Question 4

Flew and religious statements

Answer 4

Religious statements arent falsifiable in principle-now or in the future-They also reject evidence against their claim-not open to falsification thus meaningless

Question 5

Flew falsification principle

Answer 5

Religious statements are only cognitive and meaningful if they are falsifiable, religious statements arent falsifiable and thus are meaningless

Question 6

Gardner Parable

Answer 6

-Man says to his friend theres a gardner, there is no gardner so he says its an invisible, transcendent gardner, will accept no evidence to prove there isnt a gardner, just makes qualifications

Question 7

‘Religious statements die a death of a thousand qualifications’

Answer 7

-Slightly qualify their beliefs about God in order to prevent them from being contradicted by evidence-reduces the meaning of their original argument-e.g Gods love is different and works in mysterious ways

Question 8

Summarise his key points

Answer 8

-Statements have to be falsifiable to be cognitively meaningful
-religious statements are not falsifiable because:
1.They are unable to be falsified-cant prove wrong the existence of something non emperical
2.They arent open to being falsified-believers reject contradictory evidence and qualify their arguments so the evidence doesnt contradict/falsify their original belief making it meaningless and unfalsifiable (parable of the gardner and dad with terminal child as example)