Hicks Eschatological verification (philosophy)

• Definition of Eschatological verification: A statement that can be verified after death or at the end of time
• Hick agrees with AJ Ayer and Flew that the statement "God exists" is not empirically verifiable in this life
• Hick argues that many religious claims are about things beyond the limits of human life
• Religious claims are falsifiable because it is only possible to verify them after we die
• The parable that Hick tells to explain his story


  The 'celestial city'
• The parable of the 'Celestial City'

  Two men traveling on a road

  Traveler A believes that the road leads to a city, Traveler B believes the road leads to nowhere

  Along the road, they experience "refreshment and delight" and "hardship and danger"

  If Traveler A is correct, they will eventually arrive at this city

  If Traveler B is correct, they wil keep going forever, and neither will be proved right
• Saying "God exists" is not necessarily meaningless, because it is eschatological verifable