Religious language

• What does religious language in A level philosophy examine?

  The meaning of religious statements
• What is the main debate regarding religious language?

  Whether it is meaningful or meaningless
• What does verificationism state about meaningful statements?

  Only verifiable statements are meaningful
• What does falsificationism state about meaningful statements?

  Only falsifiable statements are meaningful
• What is the difference between cognitivist and non-cognitivist views?

  Cognitivism treats statements as true or false
• What are the characteristics of cognitive statements?

  • Aim to describe the world literally
  • Can be true or false
  • Examples:
  • “Water boils at 100°c”
  • “Triangles have 3 sides”
• What are the characteristics of non-cognitive statements?

  • Do not aim to describe the world literally
  • Are not true or false
  • Examples:
  • “Ouch!”
  • “Boo!”
• How does cognitivism view statements like “God exists”?

  As statements intended to be taken literally
• How do non-cognitivists view religious statements?

  As expressions of attitudes, not truths
• What does AJ Ayer's verification principle state?

  Meaning requires analytic or empirically verifiable statements
• Why does Ayer argue religious language is meaningless?

  It is neither analytic nor empirically verifiable
• What is the problem with Ayer's verification principle?

  It fails its own verification criteria
• What does falsifiability imply about statements?

  Falsifiable statements are meaningful
• Give an example of a falsifiable statement.

  “Water boils at 100°c”
• Why is “everything in the universe doubles in size every 10 seconds” considered unfalsifiable?

  No observation can disprove it
• What analogy does Antony Flew use to illustrate unfalsifiability?

  The invisible gardener analogy
• What does Flew argue about the statement “God exists”?

  It is unfalsifiable and therefore meaningless
• What are the responses to Flew and Ayer's claims about religious language?

  • Argue “God exists” is verifiable (Hick)
  • Reject Ayer’s verificationist definition
  • Argue “God exists” is falsifiable (Mitchell)
  • Reject Flew’s falsificationist criteria (Hare)
• What is eschatological verification according to John Hick?

  Verification after death or at the end of time
• How does Hick illustrate eschatological verification?

  With the parable of the celestial city
• What does Basil Mitchell argue about belief in God?

  Belief can persist despite conflicting evidence
• What are the three types of beliefs according to Mitchell?

  • Provisional hypotheses
  • Significant articles of faith
  • Vacuous formulae
• What are Hare's 'bliks'?

  Fundamental beliefs that are unfalsifiable
• How does Hare illustrate the concept of bliks?

  With the example of a paranoid student
• Why are bliks meaningful according to Hare?

  They affect the behavior of the believer