Religious Language 21st Century

Question 1

What is the difference between cognitive and non-cognitive?

Answer 1

Cognitive= factual statements
Non-cognitive= cannot be true or false because of emotions

Question 2

What was Wittengientsteins early view?

Answer 2

Picture theory
statements are only meaningful if they can be defined or pictured in the real world

Question 3

Which group of people used the picture theory to challenge religion?

Answer 3

Logical Postivists

Question 4

What is the Language Games theory?

Answer 4

-Context matters
-religious statements are non cognitive but are meaningful depending on the Game.

Question 5

What are three strengths of Wittegiensteins theory?

Answer 5

-recognizes that religious and scientific statements must be treated differently.
-meanings aren’t fixed
-recognizes they are groundless beliefs however though there is no reason they still shape our world.

Question 6

What are three weaknesses of language theory?

Answer 6

-reject religious believer would say there truth claims.
-Circular game itself is a collection of words
-Feidism

Question 7

What is the difference between Aquinas and Wittengeinstein in context?

Answer 7

AQUINAS= believed his audience were also Christian
W= His audience didn’t have particular faith

Question 8

How did Aquinas and W beleive language should be understood?

Answer 8

AQUINAS= analogically
W=’form of life’

Question 9

What are A and W views in accesibility?

Answer 9

A=accessed by anyone
W=only those ‘within the game’

Question 10

Views on cognitive and non cognitive?

Answer 10

A=cognitive factual statmetns
Wittengienstein= non-cognitive and not assertions

Question 11

What were logical positivist trying to argue with the verification principle?

Answer 11

Religious statements are meaningless as they cannot be checked empirically.

Question 12

What did logical positivists believe the role of a philosopher was?

Answer 12

Analyze the logical structure of statements and if they are meaningful.

Question 13

What did logical positivists believe the role of a scientist was?

Answer 13

Investigate meaningful statements and identify if there true or false.

Question 14

What did the verification principle state?

Answer 14

Statements are only meaningful if there analytic and synthetic.

Question 15

What are analytic statements?

Answer 15

-true by definition
-give info about what words mean
-true or false depending if the word means what it suggested
-e.g ‘a rug is a floor covering’

Question 16

What are Synthetic statements?

Answer 16

-verified through experience
-e.g Rebecca is allergic to nuts
-Rebecca isn’t part of the definition its added information
-meaningful if can be tested through the five senses

Question 17

Explain the Strong version of the Verification principle.

Answer 17

-Synthetic statements are only meaningful if they can be conclusively verified by immediate direct sense experience

Question 18

What was the problem with the Strong verification principle?

Answer 18

-few statements pass the test
-scientific statements and laws meaningless as you cannot always verify that the laws will always apply
-Historical statements mean less as we cannot empirically see that Henry 8th had 6 wives

Question 19

Who developed the Weak version of the verification principle?

Answer 19

Synthetic statements were meaningful if they could be verified in principle
-e.g ‘there are mountains on the far side of the moon’
space travel not possible but still meaningful as it could be proven through principle

Question 20

What made the weaker version of the verification principle much better that the stronger version?

Answer 20

Allowed both historical and scientific statements to be meaningful as it did not require personal experience.

Question 21

What was A.J Ayers view on religious statements?

Answer 21

He concluded that they cannot be verified in principle so were therefore meaningless.

Question 22

Why did Ayers later change his mind?

Answer 22

Because even the impossible could be verified through principle.

Question 23

Explain John Hick’s criticism of the weak verification principle.

Answer 23

Principle of eschatological verification
The idea that religious statements will eventually be proven by the end of time if we retain consciousness

Question 24

What is another point to defend religious statements against Ayers view?

Answer 24

That the life of Jesus can be verified in principle via documents and records.

Question 25

What are two other weaknesses of the Logical positivist / Verification principle?

Answer 25

-self refuting it fails its own test though A.J Ayers argues that its a theory not a statement.
-Karl Popper, Falsification if science was about proving things to be true we would make no progress at all.