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Philosophy > Religious Language - 20th Century > Flashcards

Religious Language - 20th Century Flashcards

1
Q

What was the Vienna Circle

A

Group of scholars in the 1920s and 30s who debated on what statements were meaningful and worth discussion

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2
Q

What school of thought was the Vienna Circle and what did they use

A

Logical Positivism and they used the strong verification principle

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3
Q

Tautology

A

A statement that is always true that holds its meaning within it, the round circle

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4
Q

what was the strong verification principles terms for meaning

A
  • Could be empirically verified
  • True by definition or tautology
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5
Q

What are the weaknesses of logical positivism

A
  • Can’t make statements about history
  • Scientific laws are meaningless
  • Ignores symbolic things like poetry or art
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6
Q

How does Swinburne criticise logical positivism

A

Universal statements like all ravens are black have meaning but can’t be empirically verified

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7
Q

What did Aj Ayer develop

A

the weak verification principle

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8
Q

What does the verification principle deem statements about god

A

meaningless

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9
Q

What was the Weak Verification Principle

A

Ayer argued that statements like scientific and historical could be verified in principle because they are known to be true just not empirically provable.

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10
Q

What was the evident flaw in Ayers Weak verification principle

A

Anything could be verified in principle

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11
Q

How does Hick criticise Ayer in his eschatological verification

A

God and heaven can be verified in principle because believers will see death as a means to verify if heaven and god exists.

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12
Q

Hicks parable of the celestial city

A

two men walk down a path yet one believes it leads to a celestial city and the other believes it is pointless and leads nowhere yet neither is right or wrong

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13
Q

how do empirical and historical arguments in verification principle weaken it

A
  • Jesus can be verified historically through bible
  • Paleys design argument uses empiricism to prove god exists
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14
Q

How does DZ Phillips criticise the verification principle

A
  • DZ Phillips says that religious language shouldn’t be treated like scientific statements but more symbolic like poetry
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15
Q

Explain Swinburne’s toys in the cupboard analogy

A

Toys in the cupboard come alive at night but return before anyone sees, this isn’t meaningless just impossible to verify empirically

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16
Q

What are Wittgenstein’s language games

A

meaning of a word depends on the context or ‘game’ it is being used in

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17
Q

example of wittgentsteins language game

A

Key could be a metal object for a door, button on a piano, symbols and their meaning on a map, depends on the context

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18
Q

How was Wittgenstein’s language games applied to religious language

A

religious language is its own game and can’t be criticised by atheists as they don’t understand the context they are in another game

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19
Q

What is wrong with language games

A

prevents discussion between games which is important to encourage thinking and developments

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20
Q

non cognitive

A

non factual statement that isn’t true or false more symbolic or emotional language

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21
Q

How did Cupitt develop language games to show religious language has no meaning

A

All language games are non cognitive as true and false have no objective meaning, The meaning depends on the wider context or form of life of the language game and so each game creates its own reality, God isn’t objectively real but within the religious language game he is a created reality.

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22
Q

How does Phillips use language games to show religious language does have meaning

A

God is a reality beyond the scope of philosophy, philosophy shouldn’t question truth of religious statements but clarify their meaning. He argues that language can be cognitive and non cognitive and both are meaningful but it depends on the context or form of life.

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23
Q

form of life

A

the wider context in which statements are used

24
Q

Reasons why language games allow religious language to be meaningful

A
  • Religious language is meaningful for those inside the religious language game
  • Cannot be commented on or criticised by other language games
  • Phillips
25
Q

Reasons why language games don’t allow religious language to be meaningful

A
  • Anything could be meaningful with an agreed understanding, unicorns exist.
  • Cupitt
  • Geach argues the game is circular and meaningless as the word takes its meaning from the game but the game takes its meaning from the words in it
26
Q

strengths of Aquinas and weaknesses of Wittgenstein

A
  • Hick argues by looking at Jesus we get a clear image of god
  • Analogies allow positive statements about god whilst avoid anthropomorphism and agnosticism
  • religious language game can’t be challenged can lead to dangerous beliefs
  • religious believers use the game to express truth and reality but Wittgenstein intended meaning
27
Q

strengths of Wittgenstein and weaknesses of Aquinas

A
  • Religious statements have meaning in the context of their own game
  • language games create reality
  • Games can’t criticise games
  • Aquinas analogy is too weak as nothing is truely known about god
  • Analogy also makes an assumption of similarities between god and humans
28
Q

Traditional bible interpretation

A

The bible contains gods authentic messaged every word is literal factual truth, cognitive approach

29
Q

Liberal bible interpretation

A

non cognitive approach that understands the bible as a human document than needs to be studies in modern context looking at the symbolic messages

30
Q

Fundamentalist bible interpretation

A

recent bible movement that interprets the bible as factual in a cognitive approach

31
Q

How does Bultman explain a non cognitive approach to miracles

A

Supernatural elements of miracles are products of a pre scientific world so by removing them it leaves us with Jesus moral teachings

32
Q

Reasons why religious texts should be interpreted non cognitively

A
  • Should be interpreted within the context of the game or community not as universal truths
  • Should be interpreted by faith community and only within that game as these are the only people with use for them
33
Q

Reasons why religious texts should be interpreted cognitively

A
  • non cognitivism undermines events like resurrection
  • message in the bible shouldn’t be diluted as it is truth
  • god is an objective reality and the bible is his word that transcends time and place
34
Q

Who created the falsification principle

A

Karl Popper

35
Q

What was the falsification principle

A

Aims to separate scientific and non scientific statements by looking at any evidence that would falsify the statement not a checklist to verify it.

36
Q

What is the falsification symposium

A

Series of essays by Flew, Hare, Mitchell that discuss falsification in relation to religious language

37
Q

How does Flew explain the falsification symposium

A

He uses John wisdoms parable of the invisible Gardner, says religious statements like god created earth seem scientific but religious people refuse any evidence to count against it.

38
Q

What is Flews quote and example and what does It mean

A

He suggests that when talking about suffering in the world religious people will add that it is gods plan, by adding to their statement it has changed or ‘died the death of 1000 qualifications’

39
Q

What is Flews conclusion

A

Religious believers don’t allow anything to count against their statement so it can’t be falsified or stated so isn’t a genuine claim

40
Q

Blik

A

basic unfalsifiable belief

41
Q

How does Hare explain the falsification symposium

A

In his parable of the lunatic he has a blik that the professors want to kill him, religious statements are bliks because they express a belief or view and have a great effect on ones life

42
Q

What is Hares conclusion

A

Bliss can’t be falsified because they have such a big impact on the life of the believer, the believer will ignore all evidence otherwise

43
Q

What was Mitchells parable

A

in WW2 the partisan meets a stranger and trusts him accepting his help even when evidence suggests he is a Nazi general

44
Q

What does Mitchells parable express

A

that religious believer don’t simply discount or refuse to acknowledge evidence against their claim as this would fail faith and logic. They have an underlying reason for their faith, their beliefs are based on reason.

45
Q

Reasons why falsification helps to understand religious language

A
  • Flew argues it helps us to falsify religious language through the death of a thousand qualifications
  • Helps to clarify which statements are scientific and not
  • religious statements aren’t scientific so are cognitive
46
Q

Reasons why falsification doesn’t help to understand religious language

A
  • Hare suggests it isn’t like scientific claims that can be falsified it is a blip.
  • Mitchell argues that religious claims aren’t falsifiable because they are based on reasoned faith in god
  • religious statements are not like scientific claims they are more symbolic
47
Q

Scholars that express weaknesses of falsification in religious language

A

Popper - should only be for science
Gould -
Alston -
Swinburne - Toys in the cupboard
Wittgenstein - its own language game so holds no authority over religion

48
Q

cognitive

A

Claims that can be known and empirically verified, they are either true or false

49
Q

How does Ramsey support Aquinas cognitive view of religious language

A

series of straight polygons at some point will look like a circle, at some points religious will move beyond literal language beyond reality where it becomes revelatory

50
Q

How does verificationism support cognitive approaches

A

logical positivists treat religious language like scientific assertions in a cognitive way to decide if it is meaningful or meaningless

51
Q

how does verificationism support non cognitive approaches

A

religious language is non cognitive as it is beyond scientific criteria, it isn’t true or false but still has meaning like poetry or art

52
Q

how does falsification support cognitive approaches

A

Flew argues religious claims are made like scientific assertions about what is true, so it should be treated cognitively and be able to be falsified like scientific postulations

53
Q

how does falsification support non cognitive approaches

A

Hares bliks show that religious language is a blip which isn’t true or false but still has meaning on ones life

54
Q

How does Aquinas support cognitive approaches

A

Analogies show accurate description of god and assert the truth in his existence

55
Q

how do language games support non cognitive approaches

A

Cupid argues religious language is only objectively true within its own language game so it is non cognitive

Philosophy (9 decks)

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