Logical Positivists and the Verification Principle

• Who were the Vienna circle / logical positivists?

  Group of philosophers working in Vienna in the 1920s who discussed how we use language. They said statements can only be meaningful if they can be verified
• What does the verification principle state?

  We know the meaning of a statement if we know the conditions under which the statement is true or false
• When is a statement proven meaningless?

  If it cannot be proven through reasoning or practical evidence
• Example of verification principle

  The statement God is good is meaningless because you have to prove God exists and his nature for the statement to be true or false, which we cannot do
• What was pointless to talk about according to the logical positiivists?

  Ethics, God and art. They don't apply to the principle because they're too 'opinion-based
• What is a weakness of the verification principle?

  Language such as 'all' cannot be tested because it is too general
• Why is religious language meaningless to the logical positivists?

  It extends past human experience and understanding
• What is AJ Ayer's strong and weak verification principle?

  Strong - true by definition

  Weak - if there is no way of verifying something in the moment, for example a historical event
• Does Ayer regard religious language as meaningful or meaningless?

  Meaningless
• What is the weakness of the original verification principle that Ayer attempted to address?

  Statements that are not verifiable in practice but could be verifiable should be meaningful