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Religious Language Flashcards

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1
Q

what is cognitive language

A

language that makes factual assertions that can be proven true or false

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2
Q

what is non-cognitive language

A

language that makes claims or observations that are to be interpreted in some other way as symbols, metaphors, ethical commands rather then factual claims

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3
Q

what did Hume believe about langauge

A

if a statement does not fall under ‘revelation of ideas’ or ‘matter of fact’ then it is meaningless

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4
Q

who was A J Ayer

A

20th century logical positivist

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5
Q

who developed the verification principle

A

logical positivists, the vienna circle and A J Ayer

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6
Q

what is the verification principle

A

a statement is only meaningful if it can be empirically verifiable or if it is true by definition
A statement must be either analytic or synthetic to have meaning

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7
Q

what does the verification principle say about religious language

A

it is neither synthetic or analytic so it is deemed as nonsense and meaningless. Gods existence cannot be proven so the language cannot be proven true or false

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8
Q

what is 2 quotes from Ayer about religious langauge

A

“nonsensical”
“God talk is evidently nonsense”

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9
Q

what are the strengths of the Verification principle

A

-clearly structured
-clear cut and straightforward
-modified to include strong and weak verification

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10
Q

what are the weaknesses of the verification principle

A

-without laws society would devolve into chaos
-not fit for society
-too rigid
-ethical statements do have meaning

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11
Q

what types of language does the verification principle view as meaningless

A

religious, ethical, historical

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12
Q

how did Ayer modify the verification principle

A

made it more broad by introducing strong and weak verification
2+2=4 is a strong verification
historical statements are weak verification

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13
Q

who responded to the verification principle

A

Hick with eschatological verification

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14
Q

what is Hick’s eschatological verification

A

claimed that the existence of God can be verified in principle after death (eschatologically). Therefore religious language is meaningful as it can be verified after death

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15
Q

what parable is used by Hick

A

the parable of the celestial city

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16
Q

what is the parable of the celestial city

A

two travellers go along the road, one believes it will lead to a celestial city, the other one does not. Neither will know if they are right until they get there but when they do one with be proven right and the other wrong

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17
Q

what are the strengths of Hicks eschatological verification

A

-the possibility of heaven in undeniable
-Christian claims are cognitive as it can be verified so proves other claims like Jesus resurrection
-LAD can be verified by near death experiences
-faith without proof

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18
Q

what are the weaknesses of Hicks eschatological verification

A

-remote possibility is not worth considering
-if no LADA it can’t be verified
-cannot be falsified

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19
Q

who was flew

A

negative atheist and English philosopher

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20
Q

who was Popper

A

Australian British philosopher

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21
Q

who came up with the falsification principle

A

Karl Popper developed the falsification principle then Flew, influenced by popper, applied it to religious language

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22
Q

what is the falsification principle

A

something must have the potential to be falsified to have meaning. scientists don’t just gather evidence to support, they look for what could prove the theory false

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23
Q

what is a quote from Popper about the falsification principle

A

“speaks about reality it must be falsifiable”

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24
Q

what parable did Flew use to show how the FP applied to religious langauge

A

the parable of the gardener

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25
what is the parable of the gardener
2 people go into a woodland, one says there must be a gardener, the other who can't see one says there isn't. Explorer one looks at all the nice stuff and says there must by but explorer two sees all the weeds and says there isn't
26
how does the parable of the gardener apply to religious language
theists won't accept any falsification that God doesn't exist. People saying maybe God has a plan or maybe he gave us free will end up so removed form the original statement that God exists it is more logical that he probably doesn't exist
27
what is a quote from flew
"God dies a death of 1000 qualifications"
28
what are the strengths of the FP
-established a clear criteria -highlights how religious claims often reject counter evidence -alignment with science
29
what are the weaknesses of the FP
-too rigid, many historical or scientific claims are not easily falsifiable -assumes all religious believers resist evidence
30
who responded to the falsification principle
Hare
31
who was hare
English moral philosopher interested in how we all have different perspectives on things
32
what does Hare think about religious language
religious language in non-cognitive and consists of 'Bliks' which are unfalsifiable world views that shape peoples perspective of reality
33
what is a quote from hare
"Blik"
34
what is a Blik
a view of the world that is not an assertion but is non-cognitive and non-falsifiable
35
what parable did Hare use to show his view of the falsification principle
the parable of the lunatic
36
what is the parable of the lunatic
a lunatic is convinced that all dons want to murder him. His friends introduce him to nice and kind dons but no matter what the lunatic still thinks they all want to murder him
37
how does the parable of the lunatic apply to religious language
all religious language is non-cognitive and function through bliks. They cannot be falsified like the lunatic and nothing will change their minds, even if clearly delusional
38
what are the strengths of Hare's argument against the FP
-explains why different religions have different views -explains why people are not convinced by evidence that appears to contradict it -religious belief is about world view not empirical evidence
39
what are the weaknesses of Hare's argument against the FP
-suggests religious beliefs are non-cognitive which most religious believers reject -if there are no factual beliefs to Christianity then what's the point --if bliks are beyond reason then does that mean all world views even if irrational are equally as valid
40
which scholars from VP and FP are cognitive
Ayer Hick Flew
41
which scholars from VP and FP are non-cognitive
Hare
42
what theory did early Wittgenstein create
picture theory
43
what is picture theory presented by Wittgenstein
-concerned with human communication -our words become pictures in our minds -if we spoke with more clarity we would have clearer pictures and less miscommunications
44
what is a quote from early Wittgenstein about the world
"the world is all that is the case"
45
what theory did later Wittgenstein create
language games
46
what is a quote from later Wittgenstein about meaning
"meaning is use"
47
what is Wittgenstein's language games
language has a meaning within a particular social context governed by rules like a game the meaning of a statement is not defined by the steps of falsification or verification but by the context it is in language is meaningful in the right context
48
what are the strengths of language games
-avoids logical positivists criticism of being too narrow -explains religious discourse (why it seems nonsensical to others) -recognises the diversity of language and how their all meaningful in their own context -protects religious belief form criticism as they're in a different game
49
what are the weaknesses of language games
-limits cross dialogue -discourages objective analysis, shielding them from rational critique -undermines religious realism
50
how does language games avoid the same criticism of the logical positivists
avoids the criticism of being too narrow by emphasising the diversity of meaning and how it is context dependent
51
how does language games explain religious discourse
explains why some language seems nonsensical to others because they are in a different context. while religious language doesn't seem meaningful to some people it still has meaning to those who are in the right context
52
how does language games recognise the diversity of language
science, religion, ethics all are meaningful forms of language even though they cannot be verified of falsified within their own context
53
how does language games protect religious belief from criticism
protects religious belief from criticism as those making an external analysis are in a different context so they don't understand the meaning of the language so there criticism is irrelevant
54
how does language games limit cross dialogue
it is very difficult to have meaningful conversation across too contexts as neither can understand the meaningfulness of the others language. creates a larger divide between believers and non-believers
55
how does language games discourage objective analysis
religious truths cannot be asserted externally, shielding them from any rational critique. without this they would not be able to accept theory's such as the big bang and show how God can play a part
56
how does language games undermine religious reasoning
this theory could be seen as anti-Christian, believers think they are making objective claims and not just playing a game
57
who is the main scholar for the theory of langauge as symbolic
Tillich
58
who was Tillich
German, Christian theologian
59
what is a symbol
-points to a reality beyond themselves -participate in the power to which they point -open up new levels of reality that would be otherwise unknown to us -opens up new levels of the soul
60
what effect do symbols have on the meaningfulness of religious langauge
religious language as symbolic can be meaningful because it points to a reality beyond themselves and to deeper meanings even if it is not empirically verifiable
61
who inspired Tillich's ideas that symbols open up a new level of reality
otto and the idea of numinous experience
62
how did otto inspire Tillich and the idea of symbols
symbols open up a greater level of reality. Otto believed this about religious experience and how we have a special faculty in our minds to recognise the holy
63
what are the 4 main characteristics of symbols
-point to a reality beyond themselves -participate in the power in which they point -open up levels of reality which otherwise would not be known to us -open up levels of the soul which correspond with these realities
64
what does it mean when Tillich says God is 'being it-self'
god does not exist as a separate being, God is everywhere and everything the only literal statement in religious language is that God is a being it-self
65
what is a example of a religious symbol
"God is love" "crucifix" "holy communion"
66
who came up with the analogical language theory
Aquinas
67
what is an analogy
an attempt to explain the meaning of something which is difficult to understand be comparing it with something that is more securely with our reference frame
68
what two types of language that Aquinas rejects for analogical language
univocal equivocal
69
what is univocal language
it means exactly the same thing each time. For example a coat and a lump of coal as black
70
what is equivocal language
it means different things when used in different situations. For example, a bat means a flying mammal or somethings used to hit a ball
71
why does Aquinas reject univocal language
it would mean we are claiming things like god is good in the same way that humans are good. God is perfect so we cannot be good the same way he is
72
why does Aquinas reject equivocal language
it would mean we are claiming God is good in a completely different way to humans this would mean we would not be able to know anything about him
73
why did Aquinas believe we should use analogies to describe God
analogy is the act of comparing one thing by comparing it to another. God should be thought of this way to understand his nature. we can speak meaningfully about god but understand the difference between divine and human attributes
74
what are the strengths of the anaological argument
bridges the gap be

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