Hare's Bliks

Question 1

What is a ‘blik’?

Answer 1

A blik is a non-rational belief which could never be falsified (disproved)

Question 2

Hare’s lunatic

Answer 2

A student is convinced that his teacher is trying to kill him, despite his friends pointing out that there is no evidence for this belief. The student would then say that this teacher is so clever that he would never leave any evidence behind.

Question 3

Explanation of bliks

Answer 3

Bliks are not necessarily untrue (some are insane and others are sane), but they are groundless.

They are about how a particular person sees the world. We all have our own bliks which we use to frame our experience of the world and which help us find meaning.

So, RL can be seen as a blik, a way in which a group of people see the world.

Question 4

Hick’s counter to Hare’s bliks

Answer 4

Hick argued that there are reasons behind religious beliefs, so they are not groundless like bliks.

Reasons behind religious beliefs may include: experiences, scripture, empirical evidence.