Religious Language 20th Century * Flashcards
Keyword: cognitive
Facts that can be known
Keyword: Non-cognitive
Cannot be determined to be ‘true’ of ‘false’ has a different function
Keyword : Analytic statement
A proposition that is true by definition (e.g all bachelors are men)
Synthetic Statements
adds to the concept of the subject (e.g, doctors are rich)
The verifiability theory
- statements that goes beyond mere definitions have to be verifiable in order to mean anything
Language games
- Wittengestein also believe we know what a word means once we can use it in context.
- Learning a language is like a game: E.G. we might know a chess piece is called a ‘king’ but we wont understand this until we see its signifcance in a game
Wittenstein’s view on language games and forms of life.
Religious language is subjective to the believer:
- He used the example of being the driver in a train
- We can see the different buttons, pedals etc, but we wont understand them until we drive the trains
D.Z. Phillips
- The language only makes sense within the ‘game’ and for those within it - it has meaning.
Anthony Flew & Falsification’
flasification: religious language dies the death of 1000 qualifications
- religious language isnt meaningful becasue it cant be falsified
The parable of the invisible gardener
Flew:
- illustrate the differences between assertions based on faith and assertions based on scientific evidence, and the problems associated with unfalsifiable beliefs.
R.M. Hare
- religious langauge fails to make meaningful truth claims
- People should not interpret religious langguage as truth claims cognitively but expression of ‘blik’
keyword
BLIK
- Mans unfalsibiable conviction
- Athiests have blik too e.g. everything happens for a reason
- we all have unfalisable ways of framing our understanding of experiences which help us find meaning.
The parabe of the lunatic
displays how All people have blicks, but some are right and some are wrong.
Mitchell
The Parable of the Partisan
- Religious beliefs and statements do have factual content (are cognitive)
ciceros universal consent argument
religious people + institutions exist - suggests religion is valid