Verification and falsification debates

Question 1

Where did the verification principle stem from?

Answer 1

from the movement known as Logical Positivists and in particular from a group of philosophers in the 1920s known as the vienna circle.

Question 2

What did the LP And VC apply to language?

Answer 2

They applied the princples of science and mathematics to language and argued that, like knowledge , language had to be based on experience. A statement is verifiable by our sense experiences ( touch smell etc)

Question 3

Who became influenced by the developments of Vienna.

Answer 3

Ayer he developed his own verification principle and decided that LP has uncovered significant problems in religions and metaphysical claims.

Question 4

What does the verification principle state?

Answer 4

A statement which cannot be conclusively verified, is simply meaningless.

Question 5

Ayer argues that statements can be meaningful if they fall under what 2 categories?

Answer 5

Analytic propositions

Synthetic propositions

Question 6

What is a Analytic proposition?

Answer 6

they are true by definition because this is required by the definition of the word used e.g. this circle is not a square or because they are mathematical - 2+2 =4.

Question 7

What is a Synthetic proposition?

Answer 7

which are true by confirmation of the senses ( a posteriori claims) e.g. I can see that it’s roast for lunch on a Thursday or ‘dogs bark’

Question 8

What did Ayer think about Religious claims?

Answer 8

they are non-cognitive and impossible to verify, so they are meaningless, they don’t tell us anything factual

Question 9

What is Verification principle criteria similar to?

Answer 9

Humes fork ( ethics)

Question 10

What are 3 strengths of the verification principle?

Answer 10

It provides clear paramters to verifying a statement; either it can be verified empirically via experience or it is a tautology( true by definition.

2) It is not just an argument against God and his existence; both the agnostic and atheist are making meaningless statements.
3) Weak verification allows flexibility historical statmenets count because of evidence left such as diaries ( applied to modern society well)

Question 11

Why was weak verification introduced?

Answer 11

This is because strong verification had no application.

Question 12

What is Weak verification principle?

Answer 12

refers to statements that can be shown to be provable by observation and experience. Ayer thought that sense should be used. e,g, allows us to look at historical statements due to evidence.

Question 13

What are 3 weakness of the verification principle?

Answer 13

1) Ethical and moral statements e.g ‘do not kill’ are regarded as meaningless.
2) If you apply the weak verification principle you can justify anything.
3) The verification principle can contradict itself. A statement is only meaningful if it can be verified analytically or synthetically but it cannot itself be this as well.

Question 14

How might Richard Swinburne critique the verification principle?

Answer 14

he argues that there are still propostions in which no one knows how to verify but are still not meaningless e.g. toys coming out of the cupboard at night, no observation could establish this, but still not meaningless.

Question 15

What is another weakness of the verification principle a parable?

Answer 15

John Hick - Parable of the celestial city ( eschatological verification)

Question 16

What is John Hick - Parable of the celestial city ( eschatological verification)?

Answer 16

Two people are walking along the road, one believes that it leads to the celestial city. The other believe that it is a road to no where. They have many adventures as they travel. One interprets them as being sent by God to prepare them for life in celestial city, the other sees this as a random chance. Only when we know the end of the road we will know the truth. This is eschatological verification. This shows verification in the after life

Question 17

What is a counter of eschatological verification?

Answer 17

Presupposing that there is an afterlife.

Question 18

What are 3 points for the statement ‘ Assess the key features of the verification principle

Answer 18

1) A statement is only verifabel if it fits the citeria of analytical and synthetic statements. This will not be applicable to Christians A02: the verification principle contradicts itself, it cannot be proved analytically or synthetically.
2) Weak verficiation principle- allowing us to look at historical statements as there is evidence from for this, allowing flexibility. A02: it can be used to justify anything the weak verification principle.
3) idea of strong verification principle by Vienna circle, only accepts directly verifiable statements e.g. my name is Jason e.g. anselm says GITTWNGCBC, we cannot prove this, its non-cognitive. However Eschatological verification shows things may be verifable in the afterlife.

Question 19

What is the inverse of the verification principle?

Answer 19

Falsification principle

Question 20

What is the falsification principle?

Answer 20

Language is only meaningful if it can be falsified, unfalsifiable statements are meaningless and not capable of being true or false unlike falsifiable claims

Question 21

Who originally came up with the falsification principle?

Answer 21

Karl popper

Question 22

What did Karl popper say?

Answer 22

statements are scientific, if our empirical evidence could potentially falsify them. He wants to improve on the limitations of the verification principle.

Question 23

What are examples of unfalsifiable claim?

Answer 23

everything in the universe doubles in size every 10 seconds. The statement is unfalsible because no possible observation could disprove this statement.

Question 24

Who were the 3 theologians who discussed the falsification principle?

Answer 24

Flew, Hare and Mitchell

Question 25

What does Flew argue?

Answer 25

Theological utterances are not assertions; they have no cognitive meaning.

Question 26

What is flew basically trying to say here?

Answer 26

The problem with religious language is that it cannot be falsified, when religious people assert something they feel as if they are asserting fact but they are not it is meaningless.

Question 27

What example does Flew use to illustrate his point?

Answer 27

The parable of the gardener. Two explorers in a jungle, weeds and flowers grow, one believers that there is a Gardner, the other doesn’t, There are several attempts to find the gardener but non are found. The faithful explorer doesn’t give up his belief

Question 28

What does Flew argue about the Gardener?

Answer 28

Just how does an invisible, intangible, eternally elusive gardener differ from an imaginary gardener or no gardener at all.

Question 29

What does the Parable of the gardener show?

Answer 29

This shows that faith claims are incorrect and irrational interpretation of the world that goes against evidence. Relgiious believers fail to accept their beliefs are irrational and keep qualifying them.

Question 30

What famous quote does Flew use to describe religious believers?

Answer 30

‘God died a death of a thousand qualifications’ - this means that religious believers shift the goal posts when belief is challenged, so therefore Gold talk can never be falsified.

Question 31

What is a counter to the idea that Religious belief statements are unfalsifiable?

Answer 31

They could be potentially falsifiable. Religious believers do not continually qualify their beliefs, instead religious believers clarify and state their beliefs more clearly e.g. the free will defence is an explanation of belief in God and Free will, it cannot be dismissed as a qualification.

Question 32

What does Hare argue?

Answer 32

He believed Flew is right to say theological utterances are not assertions, however, they are ‘bliks’ which are unfalsiable and so are meaningful.

Question 33

What example does Hare use to illustrate his point?

Answer 33

The parable of the Lunantic

Question 34

What is the parable of the Lunantic?

Answer 34

A student from at university of oxford holds a unfalsiable belief. He believed that ‘dons’ were after him, even the most kind and gentle were about to murder him. He didn’t accept any evidence shown to contrary- ( no evidence that falsifies his belief)

Question 35

What would according to Flew’s criteria would the lunatic’s assertions be?

Answer 35

It would be meaningless as there is no behaviour being demonstrated by the dons that would support his theory.

Question 36

What is Hare trying to say about the falsification principle?

Answer 36

Hare is suggesting Flew’s falsification is too strict; and that even a non-falsifiable belief can be meaningful because it affects a persons state of mind and prediction of their behavior. We know what the lunatic means when he says “my teachers are plotting to kill me” even though no evidence to the contrary makes a difference to him.

Question 37

What is Hare’s response to the idea that religious assertions are utterances?

Answer 37

disagrees that religious beliefs are cognitive assertations about what is true or false INSTEAD everyone has their bliks. These express a world view, that is logically prior to the facts (you start with a blik, and these determine all your other beliefs and what counts as fact).

Question 38

Can you contradict a blik?

Answer 38

Cannot contradict a blik with other facts because people select the facts that support their blik, and ignore the evidence that does not fit. e.g. driving being safe

Question 39

Why is the idea of bliks useful?

Answer 39

this theory explains why different religions make contradictory factual claims; if the claims are expressions of bliks, it is based on personal meaning rather than factual content

Question 40

What is an A02 evaluation of bilks?

Answer 40

For traditional religious believers belief statements are not ways of expressing the world, but are factual claims about how the world is and God’s relationship to the world.

Question 41

What is a strength and weakness of Hare’s ideas?

Answer 41

1) gives importance and meaning to beliefs without verification
2) John Hick argues there is inconsistency he distinguishes between sane and insane bliks but he claims bliks are unverifiable and unfalsifiable.Meaning religious bliks cannot be right wrong nor sane or insane.

Question 42

Who is the theologian that critique’s Flew and Hare?

Answer 42

Mitchell

Question 43

What does Mitchell say?

Answer 43

Theological utterances are meant as assertions and they are very meaningful to those who hold onto them.

Question 44

What does Mitchell agree on?

Answer 44

he agrees that in order for a statement to be meaningful, it must be possible for some observations to prove it wrong.

Question 45

How does Mitchell disagree with the theory of bliks?

Answer 45

He used a parable to explain that religious belief and therefore Religious language, was based on fact, even though they are not straight forwardly verifiable or falsifiable.

Question 46

What parable did Mitchell use to disagree with the theory of bliks?

Answer 46

He used the parable of the Partisan ( a resistance fighter)

Question 47

What was the parable of the partisan?

Answer 47

A member of the resistance is met by a man claiming to be a leader, the man (fighter) pledges his loyalty to the stranger, sometimes the leader is seen helping the resistance, other times he sees to be helping the enemy, the stranger nevertheless continues his belief that the stranger is in fact the leader.

Question 48

What does the Parable of the Partisan link to?

Answer 48

Links to story of Job, problem of evil and suffering, theodicy and holocaust.

Question 49

How is the Parable of the lunatic different to the parable of the partisan?

Answer 49

Hare’s lunatic has no reason to trust the dons. Mitchell’s fighter acknowledges that things can go against his belief in the leader and his belief is based on reason and fact.

Question 50

What is Mitchell’s point about religious belief using the parable of the partisan?

Answer 50

it is that religious belief is based on fact through it cannot be verified and falsified in the simplistic way that logical positivists demand.

Question 51

What does Mitchell believe about all the peculiar and problematic parts of religious belief?

Answer 51

All the peculiar and problematic parts of religious belief will be revealed at the end of time according to religious belief.

Question 52

What does the idea that peculiar and problematic parts of religious belief will be revealed at the end of time link to?

Answer 52

Links to John Hick’s eschatological way : the aliengance of the leader will be revealed after the war.

Question 53

How does Mitchell go against flew?

Answer 53

believers accept to be open to serious challenge of evidence contrary but will not allow it to falsify their beliefs.

Question 54

What does the Parable of the partisan illustrate for Mitchell against flew?

Answer 54

Non - propositional faith ( a trust in God which may be held even evidence to contrary.

Question 55

So with Mitchell flew was wrong to say what?

Answer 55

that religious people don’t allow anything against their beliefs, as he is missed the point that their religion is their commitment to God made on faith

Question 56

Mitchell concludes that religious statements can be what?

Answer 56

1) Provisional hypothesis ( to be discarded if experience tells against them)
2) Vacuous formulae ( experience makes no difference to life)
3) Significant articles of faith ( belief is questioned but doesn’t abandon this

Question 57

What is a strength and 2 weakeness of Mitchell’s ideas?

Answer 57

1) Applies to religious believers and it emphaisies key values of commitment.
2) The parable of the stranger is a weak analogy of faith in God when it comes to the problem of evil.
3) Also there is an extent to whether or not Religious believers will allow anything to count against them e,g, orthodox jews.

Question 58

What would you write for the question ‘Explore the key features of the falsification principle’?

Answer 58

1) Define it, orginates from popper, then anthony flew adopted it.
2) Another alternative is Flew.

Question 59

What are the 2 bliks that R.M distinguishes between?

Answer 59

such as sane and insane bliks a belief that a cars structure will keep you safe in a crash - sane bliks that everyone around you is trying to kill you - insane blik

Question 60

What are 3 strengths of the falsification princple?

Answer 60

1) Falsification tries to provide a clear criteria for determing what is and what is not to count as a meaningful use of RL.
2) It offers an alternative to the failed princple of verification. ( Not as narrow minded)
3) We often regard falsification as ways of distinguishing between sense and nonsense.

Question 61

What are 4 general weaknesses of the verification princple?

Answer 61

1) Is it right to compare Religious language with scientific statements? Perhaps religion would be understood as symbolic.
2) A. J. Ayer also argued against falsification - statements cannot be conclusively falsified any more than they can be verified - he argues for ‘Weak Verification’
3) Richard swinburne uses analogy of the toy to show that the falsification princple doesn’t work for all statements but they are still meaningful.( Toys in a cupboard, although one cannot prove to falsfify that the toys don’t leave the cupboard unsuperivised, the concept of their movement still has enough meaning because we can understand it.
4) R.M hare bliks

Question 62

What is a functional explaination of the use of RL which goes against the falsification princple?

Answer 62

( supports anti realist), R.B braithwaite critques the falsification princple, arguing that religious language is meaningful because it is prespcritive. It recommends a course of action e,g, God loves me has meaning because it advises you to live your life

Question 63

How would anti - realist crituque the falsification princple?

Answer 63

Anti realist believe that a statement is true when it is coherent within a specific form of life. The statement that the holy Qur’an was dictated by the arch angel is coherent with Islam. So God talk is useful as it is coherent with certain groups.