Religious language Flashcards
what does cognitive mean ?
deals with factual statements that can be proved true or false.
What does noon-cognitive mean ?
Religious terms/statements that are not factually true but can be understood in other terms such as symbolic statements.
who developed the verification principle ?
the vienna circle (logical positivists)
what principles did the vienna circle apply to language ?
science and mathmatics
what did they argue that language had to be based on ?
experience
what are analytic statements ?
true by definition i.e. a circle is round. they contain their own verification.
what are mathematical statements ?
true by the laws of mathematics i.e. 2+2=4
what are synthetic statements ?
statements that can be verified or falsified by empirical testing. i.e. all swans are white.
what did the vienna circle conclude from this ?
that religious language was meaningless because it does not fit into any of the categories.
what book did A.J. Ayer write ?
language, truth and logic.
what did Ayer believe ?
the truth of a statement lies in its verification, the term God is metaphysical, therefore any statement about God is meaningless.
name three criticisms
statements that express opinions or emotions have meaning
ethical and moral statements are not empirically verifiable but have meaning
laws of science have meaning but are not always verified.
define the falsification principle
the reverse to the verification principle,as it looks at what is needed to prove something false rather than verify.
Who supported the falsification principle ?
Anthony Flew
what did Flew believe about language ?
it has to be open to challenge to be meaningful.
what did Flew believe about religious believers ?
religious believers often do not allow evidence against their belief and instead except vague answers.
what did Flew conclude about religious language?
Religious language is meaningless because believers did not allow for their beliefs about God to be proved false.
what is a criticism of falsification principle ?
Religious language can be meaningful because it expresses an intention to follow a certain code of conduct.
what is the via negativa ?
the truth about God can be discovered by speaking negatively about him. the way to find out what God is like to talk about him negatively first - the principle of negation.
name two criticisms to the via negativa
believers always want to speak positively about God
it does not allow for god to be descried in factual terms.
what are the different types of language ?
univocal, equivocal and analogical
define univocal ?
words that mean the same as they normally would.
define equivocal ?
words used for God have a different meaning when used for humans.
define analogical ?
allows people to speak meaningfully about God, by using human terms to describe God.
