religious language mitchell Flashcards
rl is meaningFUL - what does basil mitchell say about hick and ayer
agrees with hick and ayer that statements/beliefs are only meaningful with observation to count against it however just because this is the case, it doesnt automatically mean we have to withdraw from that belief
rl is meaningFUL - whats basil mitchells example
youre in a war, you country having been occupied by an enemy. you meet a stranger who claims to be leader of the resistance, and so you trust him. but the stranger acts ambiguously, sometimes doing things appearing to support the enemy rather than your side. yet you continue to believe theyre on your side despite this and trusts he has reasons for his actions
rl is meaningFUL - how does mitchells example relate to god
the stranger represents god and the ambiguous actions represent the problem of evil. we can accept that the existence of evil counts as evidence against statement ‘god exists’, meaning its falsifiable, without having to withdraw from the belief
rl is meaningFUL - whats a provisional hypothesis
abandoned as soon as theres evidence against it
rl is meaningFUL - whats significant article of faith
accepts conflicting evidence but maintains a belief, seeking explainations for it
rl is meaningFUL - whats vacuous formulae
no evidence counts against it so is completely unfalsifiable
rl is meaningFUL - what does basil mitchell therefore say about religious language
religious beliefs arent provisional hypotheses like scientific statements, beliefs that are abandoned as soon as theres evidence against them. nor are they vacuous formulae that the believer holds regardless of any evidence counting against it. theyre instead the middle ground- significant article of faiths. the believer is invested in the belief without withdrawing due to contrasting evidence and can accept theres some evidence against the statement ‘god exists’ without having to withdraw from the belief its true
