Religious Language Flashcards
What is the basic meaning of the verification principle?
If something cannot be verified then it is devoid of meaning
Define univocal
Words that only have one meaning
Define equivocal
Words that have more than one meaning
What did the Vienna Circle represent?
Logical positivism
When was the Vienna circle formed?
1920s
What is a tautology?
A statement which we can know to be true by definition
What does the via negative suggest?
People can only talk about God in negative terms. He is transcendent so we cannot say what he is, only say what he is not
Who first put forward the via negativa?
Plotinus
Name the thinker who said “It’s easy to criticise God but very difficult to understand him”
Plotinus
What did Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) say about how we should talk about God?
To make positive statements about god is improper and disrespectful because it brings him down to human level. The only good thing we can say about god is that he exists.
How did Pseudo-Dionysius describe God?
Said he was “beyond assertion”
What philosophical movement did Pseudo-Dionysius belong to?
The Gnostics
What did Pseudo-Dionysius say would happen if we made positive statements about God?
It would create an anthropomorphic idea of him which limits his qualities to that of humans
How does Karl Popper criticise the verification principle?
Argues that scientific statements are potentially falsifiable
What is eschatological verification?
A theory constructed by Hick that argues we can only verify or falsify God’s existence when we die
Explain the analogy of the emerald city
Two men are on a road and one of them suggests they will find an emerald city at the end, whilst the other disagrees. They can only verify or falsify this theory once they get to the end of the road
Name the thinker who said “The criterion we use to test the genuineness of apparent statements of fact is the criterion of verifiability”
A.J.Ayer
What does R.B.Braithwaite say about religious language?
It has value for the values that it expresses
Complete these names of the thinkers associated with the Vienna circle - Otto ——- (1882-1945) Moritz ——- (1882-1936)
Neurath & Schlick
How does William Lane Craig criticise the verification principle?
Says that it cannot be applied to itself so by following the principle of verification you cannot verify the theory itself
Name the thinker who said “If God is a metaphysical term it cannot be probable that God exists”
A.J Ayer
Name the thinker who said “It challenges the realist to explain how we are able to acquire a conception of the truth-condition of a statement”
Skorupski
Name the thinker who said “Philosophy is not a doctrine but an activity of hallucination”
Moritz Schlick
Explain Swinburne’s toys in the cupboard analogy
Imagine there are some toys stored in a cupboard and someone suggests they come alive at night when everyone is asleep. We have no way of knowing whether or not this is true so we cannot falsify it. Used to protect religious theory from the verification principle.
Why was the falsification principle introduced?
To improve upon the ‘limited’ verification principle
According to the falsification principle a statement is meaningless if what?
No sense experience can count against it
According to the falsification principle why are all religious statements meaningless?
They cannot be falsified
Name the thinker who said “The verification principle dies the death of a thousand qualifications”
Anthony Flew (1923-)
Who came up with the parable of the invisible gardener?
John Wisdom (1904-1993)
What impact did logical positivism have on philosophers?
They now had to justify their theories instead of presenting inductive statements
Name the thinker who said “All we can do is search for the falsity content of our best theory”
Karl Popper (1902-1994)
Name the philosopher who said “What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence”
Ludwig Wittgenstein
