Falsification

Question 1

falsification strength

Answer 1

Where religion makes important factual claims. Flew shows that believers choose to deny anything against these claims and this means they are not real assertions because they can be falsified

Question 2

falsification weakness

Answer 2

Not everything can be defined through ‘meaningfulness’ (what is meaningfulness?)

Question 3

falsification principle (Flew)

Answer 3

to test a rule, it is necessary to look for situations that would falsify the rule

Question 4

Karl Popper

Answer 4

concept of falsification argued that the psychodynamic approach doesn’t meet the scientific criterion of falsification

Question 5

Parable of the Gardener

Answer 5

garden is kept well, there is a never a person that is seen that is keeping the garden well, are they invisible. (like God and the world)

Question 6

hick

Answer 6

religious language can be verified eschatologically and therefore it is cognitive

Question 7

Hick Parable of the Celestial City

Answer 7

traveller who believes in the celestial kingdom (heaven) has no evidence to determine whether or not it exists, but is still committed its existence; and at the end of the journey will be shown to be right or wrong. Hick

Question 8

Hick strengths 1

Answer 8

‘experiencing as’ shows that interpretation is a factor in all experience.

As soon as we talk about experiences we are interpreting them. only at death will we know the truth

Question 9

hick strength 2

Answer 9

other christian views can be verified eschatologically

Question 10

hick weakness 1

Answer 10

if his claims are false individual will never wake up to know. His claims are not falsifiable

athiests cannot prove that there is no life or death either

Question 11

Hick weakness 2

Answer 11

atheists believe this is merely wishful- thinking

counter point: near death experiences support for continuation of consciousness as do studies of prof. Ian Stevenson

Question 12

Blick RM HARE

Answer 12

Bliks are assumptions about the world, and everybody has a set of bliks about the world which gives them a framework to understand other beliefs. Bliks cannot be used as evidence in a debate, so must be non-cognitive.

Question 13

Parable of the Lunatic (Hare)

Answer 13

the lunatic is convinced that every lecturer wants to kill him, and nobody can unconvince him

Question 14

flew argues against Hare

Answer 14

if Hare’s religion really is a blik, involving no cosmological assertions about the nature and activities of a supposed personal creator, then surely he is not a christian at all?

Question 15

Hare strength 1

Answer 15

explains why different religions make different factual claims

Question 16

Hare strength 2

Answer 16

it explains why people are not convinced by evidence that appears to contradict their deeply held beliefs

Question 17

Hare strength 3

Answer 17

it is right to say religious people see the world in different ways

Question 18

Hare weakness 1

Answer 18

most believers see their beliefs as cognitive (facts)- Flew

Question 19

Hare weakness 2

Answer 19

He assumes that he knows christians better than themselves

Question 20

Hare weakness 3

Answer 20

if there are no factual beliefs of christianity. Its value reduces to psychological statements

Question 21

Hare weakness 4

Answer 21

To use the language of verification it is verifiable to say there is a God

Question 22

Wittgenstein- Language games

Answer 22

you have to be a believer to understand the ‘game’

Question 23

wittgenstein strength 1

Answer 23

avoids confusions eg. verification and falsification

Question 24

Wittgenstein strength 2

Answer 24

allows a variety eg. art, poetry and music not just scientific norm

Question 25

Wittgenstein strength 3

Answer 25

recognises the meaning behind the statement of a christian who says ‘there is a God’ rather than ‘God exists’

Question 26

Wittgenstein weakness 1

Answer 26

discourages debates with secular thinkers

Question 27

Wittgenstein weakness 2

Answer 27

religion does not attempt to communicate with those outside their community

Question 28

Wittgenstein weakness 3

Answer 28

religious statements no longer have to be true or false so anyone can make up anything

Question 29

Wittgenstein weakness 4

Answer 29

there can be no evidence for metaphysical statements

betrand russel: ‘there is a universe’- brute fact