4.2 Verification and falsification debates (2) (3)

• What new approach did some non-religious philosophers discover in the 20th century to undermine religious belief?

  They denied that religious language is meaningful.
• Why did Ayer become frustrated with the traditional methods of debating God's existence?

  Neither side seemed capable of disproving the other.
• What does Ayer argue about religious language if it is deemed meaningless?

  If religious language is meaningless, it is neither true nor false.
• What foundational question must be answered before debating God's existence, according to Ayer?

  Whether religious language has meaning.
• What is the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive language?

  Cognitive language expresses beliefs, while non-cognitive language expresses feelings or attitudes.
• What do philosophers call language that expresses beliefs?

  Cognitive language.
• What do philosophers call language that expresses feelings or attitudes?

  Non-cognitive language.
• How do some philosophers view the statement "God exists" in terms of cognitive and non-cognitive language?

  They argue it may express a non-cognitive feeling rather than a cognitive belief.
• Who were some philosophers impressed by the power of science and wanted to extend its method to all intellectual inquiry?

  Comte and Mill.
• What does 'positivism' refer to according to Comte?

  The use of empirical data and generalizations with explanatory power.
• What does 'logical' refer to in logical positivism?

  It refers to language and the analysis of language for clarity.
• What is the verification principle according to Ayer?

  A sentence is meaningful if we know how to verify the proposition it expresses.
• What type of statements does Ayer consider to be meaningful?

  Analytic statements and those that can be verified by sense experience.
• Why does Ayer consider metaphysical language to be meaningless?

  Because it cannot be verified by sense experience.
• How does Ayer view the term 'God'?

  As a metaphysical term that cannot be empirically verified.
• What is the strength of verificationism according to Ayer?

  It fits with a scientific understanding of reality.
• What was Ayer's response to the criticism that verificationism is overly restrictive?

  He introduced the concept of weak verification.
• What does weak verification allow according to Ayer?

  It allows for statements that have some evidence providing probability for their truth.
• How does weak verification relate to historical documents?

  Historical documents can provide weak verification of past civilizations.
• What is a potential weakness of weak verification in relation to arguments for God?

  It may open the door to arguments for God's existence based on observed complexity and purpose.
• How did Ayer strengthen his verification principle?

  By developing direct and indirect verification.
• What is direct verification?

  A statement that can be verified by observation.
• What is indirect verification?

  When direct verification supports a statement that we haven't directly verified.
• How does Ayer's verification principle rule out the possibility of verifying God?

  It shows that we cannot verify God either directly or indirectly.
• What is a criticism of verificationism regarding the concept of meaning?

  Meaning itself is a metaphysical concept that verificationism seeks to eliminate.
• What paradox does Quine reveal about logical positivism?

  It attempts to restrict thought to what can be verified, but we do not fully understand thought and meaning.
• How does verificationism attempt to cut through the stalemate in the debate over God's existence?

  By claiming metaphysical terms like 'God' are unverifiable and thus meaningless.
• What is Hick's argument regarding eschatological verification?

  He argues that we can verify God after death when we see God.
• What is the strength of Hick's approach in relation to Ayer's verificationism?

  It uses Ayer's claim that something must be verifiable in principle.
• How does Hick illustrate his argument with the parable of the celestial city?

  He describes two travelers, one believing in an afterlife and the other not, who will find out the truth at the end of their journey.
• What is a criticism of Hick's argument regarding the afterlife?

  We cannot be sure that there is a celestial city or an afterlife to verify God.
• How does Ayer's example of mountains on the dark side of the moon relate to verificationism?

  It illustrates that something can be verifiable in principle even if not directly observed.
• What is a key weakness of Hick's argument regarding verification in principle?

  He only shows that religious language is possibly verifiable, not verifiable in principle.
• What is a strength of logical positivist theories like verificationism?

  They are based on a reasonable claim that meaningful statements must refer to reality.
• What is a key weakness of the verification principle?

  It is self-defeating because it cannot be verified itself.
• How did Carnap attempt to defend the verification principle?

  He tried to defend it as an analytic statement.
• What is the problem with taking the verification principle empirically?

  It finds that meaning is not restricted to analytic or empirical statements.
• What does Ayer claim about the verification principle in response to its self-defeating nature?

  He claims it is a methodological stipulation for determining empirical meaning.
• How does Ayer's reduction of the verification principle affect its validity?

  It suggests that a priori metaphysical statements are only meaningless from an empirical perspective.
• What did Karl Popper think about verificationism?

  He believed empiricism operates by falsification rather than verification.