8,9) Religious language Flashcards
(56 cards)
Cognitive statement?
Twentieth-century perspectives
Truth claims, asserting facts that can be known as either true or false?
* 2+2=4
Non cognitive statement?
Twentieth-century perspectives
Do not describe facts and cannot be determined as true or false
* God exists
What was the Vienna circle?
Twentieth-century perspectives
- A group of philosophers discussed together that God was used as an explanation for anything that science had not yet mastered. and that science should be brought to the forefront of our understanding
- They argued that it is old-fashioned for people turn to God to look to find knowledge
- science should take precedence over Christianity
logical positivsm?
Vienna circle
That the aim of philosophers should be too analyse language, particularly the language of science
What is the verification principle?
A.J Ayer and the vienna circle
That statements must be verified by the senses to be meaningful
What are analytical statements?
A.J Ayer
statements that are true by nature/definition
“bachelors are unmarried men”
What are synthetic statements?
A.J Ayer
“Jack is a bachelor”
Extra information is needed to verify
Meaningful statements?
A.J Ayer
verified statements, Jack is a bachelor because I asked him and he confirmed he was an unmarried man
What are Ayer’s thoughts on religious language?
A.J Ayer
Ayer said that religious statements like “ God created the world” are meaningless because they can’t be verified through the senses
What is tautology?
A.J Ayer
A phrase where the same thing is said twice in different words, the three-sided
Strengths of the verification principle?
A.J Ayer
- Clarity in meaning, helps to differentiate between meaningful and meaningless statements ( synthetic)
- Focus on empirical evidence, uses our senses and science to verify statements
- promotes logical thinking and discourages vague calims
Weaknesses of the verification principle?
A.J Ayer
- science is constantly changing and isn’t always a reliable source of verification
- LimitsLimits human understanding: Dismisses questions and concepts that are meaningful but not empirically verifiable (e.g., existential or spiritual inquiries)
- religion and science go hand-in-hand
What does Antony Flew say about the falsification principle?
Antony Flew
Rather than focusing on verifiability they should focus on falsifiability.
Asserting something that proves it wrong rather than what it proves right, for example I have spent my morning teaching a philosophy class , that would rule out other things I couldn’t be doing like baking a cake or being on a plane
What parable does Antony Flew use to explain his idea about religious beliefs?
Antony Flew
Antony Flew’s “Gardener Story,” also known as the Parable of the Invisible Gardener, is a thought experiment that challenges religious belief systems. In this story, two people come across a garden. One person believes there is an unseen gardener tending to the garden, while the other doubts this claim. They set up tests to detect the gardener (e.g., looking for footprints or using motion sensors), but no evidence of a gardener is found. The believer then says the gardener is invisible, silent, and intangible. The skeptic counters that this description makes the gardener indistinguishable from no gardener at all.
What does Flew believe when it comes to religion?
Antony Flew
That relgious beliefs are like the gardener story, believers keep changing the story to suit their need.
What are bliks according to Hare?
R.M Hare
a basic unfalsifable (true) belief
A belief/ perception someone has that cannot be disproven
What does R.M Hare say?
R.M Hare
- When people talk about religion it is non-cognitive , based on opinion
- Someone’s religious beliefs cannot be falsified because they aren’t true (cognitive statements) to begin with
What parable does Hare give?
R.M Hare
That a lunatic is convinced that his professors are trying to kill him, his friends arrange for him to meet the kindest professors but this doesn’t convince the lunatic otherwise.
* If the person argues that what they say is not a fact (non-cognitive) then you cannot disprove what they are saying
* Hare’s point is that Flew is wrong to apply science to theological language
* Everyone has bliks , some reasonable and some not
* religious beliefs are bliks because they cannot be tested empirically
What was the partisan and resistance fighter parable show?
Basil Mitchell
That the partisan deliberately chose to follow the stranger even though he didn’t know his true motives, according to Mitchell you can do this but you must apply proof to evaluate whether or not to follow what someone says.
What did Ludwig Wittengenstein say?
Ludwig Wittgenstein
- do no speak on a matter if you are not familiar with it , if you can’t back it up.
- which he then changed his mind as he was narrow-minded because if you do not attempt to understand something then you aren’t going to understand it any better
What example did Wittgenstein give?
Ludwig Wittgenstein
The idea of chess being only understood by the people who can play chess. The same way that people who talk about steam train’s and their intracacies would understand it but not those who don’t.
Lebensform?
Ludwig Wittgenstein
‘form of life’ to signify the context in which language might be used
How is religion a groundless belief according to Wittgenstein?
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein viewed religious beliefs as “groundless” because they are not based on empirical evidence or rational proof.
What are language games?
Ludwig Wittgenstein
- Words that gain meaning from which the context they are used in
- Son playing call of duty and Grandma overhears him say “He’s dead, I shot him” , this would startle her
