Religious language

Question 1

What are the challenges of verification?

Answer 1

• Ayer’s version of the verification principle follows the ideas of the Logical Positivists
• A statement is only meaningful if it is: analytic (true by definition) or if it is empirically verifiable
• This is not about whether a statement is true or false, it is about whether it is meaningful
• Verification in practice or in principle
• Meaningful propositions have to say something about our experience of the world
• Ayer argued that religious statements can’t be verified in practice or in principle as there is no evidence that would show that these claims are true or false, so they are literally meaningless
• Not just religious statements are dismissed in this way, the same is true about moral statements, since he believes these are nothing more than expressions of approval or disapproval

Question 2

What are the strengths of the verificationist challenge?

Answer 2

• Straightforward- eliminates any need for emotion or sentiment, concentrating only on the facts
• In line with scientific method
• Demands a sense of reality in the world- people sometimes make religious statements without making any attempt at justification, but surely any claim requires some justification

Question 3

What are the weaknesses of the verificationist challenge?

Answer 3

• Demands are too narrow- just because it is straightforward, doesn’t necessarily mean that it is right. Rules out all sorts of language as meaningless (eg morality, aesthetic statements) and can it really be argued that these are meaningless?
• Ayer’s verification allows for verification in principle, so it could be argued that the Bible provides this for religious language. Much of the Gospels claim to be eyewitness accounts of significant religious events, eg the resurrection, and historians would class this as verification in principle. Statements about Jesus can therefore be verified in principle as historical statements

Question 4

What are the strengths of falsification?

Answer 4

• When religion makes important factual claims, Flew seems to show that these claims are empty, because all evidence against such claims is ignored by the believer (the Parable of the Gardener).

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of falsification?

Answer 5

• It attempts to confine meaning to factual statements, but there is a whole realm of humanity that cannot be confined in this way
• When religious believers make claims about God, they are not making wild speculations. They assume that there is a truth to be known about the nature and origin of the universe, and that God is a reasonable explanation of the truth. Falsification is too rigid in its understanding of the truth
• Statements about God are metaphysical, not scientific, so it seems inappropriate to demand that they conform to empirical regulations

Question 6

What are the strengths of eschatological verification?

Answer 6

• Hick’s claim that the celestial city is a real possibility seems undeniable. The statement that ‘there is life after death’ has to either be true or false, so it isn’t unreasonable to suggest that it is true
• Shows that Christian claims are cognitive as a whole, because if we wake up in a resurrected body, not only will we know that Christian beliefs about life after death are true, but all Christian statements are also verified
• Interpretation is rife in much of our lives, eg, optical illusions, so this is similar to the two travellers in the parable of the invisible gardener. Both interpreting evidence in different ways, but both are valid and at some point one or other will be proven to be true

Question 7

What are the strengths of Hare’s bliks?

Answer 7

• Does explain why different religions make different factual claims. The conflicting ‘truths’ of different religions could suggest that one is wrong and one is right, but it seems simpler to accept Hare’s view that all assertions about God are non cognitive bliks. They are deeply personally meaningful, but they have no factual content
• Explains why people are not convinced by evidence that appears to contradict their religious beliefs as they see it through the frame of their blik
• Hare’s view correctly reflects the idea that religion gives a view or attitude that is used to interpret the whole of life

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of Hare’s bliks?

Answer 8

• Most believers do not see their beliefs as non cognitive: they believe their assertions are factual claims
• If there are no factual truths about Christianity then it’s value is reduced to its psychological and sociological benefits

Question 9

What are the strengths of lanaguge games?

Answer 9

• Avoids mistaking what language is trying to do, particularly the mistakes of the verificationists and falsificationsists
• Allows for a variety of meaning to be important (eg, art, music, emotion) rather than just expecting language to conform to an empirical or scientific norm
• Wittgenstein captures more accurately what a believer means when they say ‘there is a God’.

Question 10

What are the weaknesses of language games?

Answer 10

• His approach discourages debate with secular thinkers. If we can’t understand religious language unless we engage with it, this isolates religion from external criticism. It could be argued that engaging with secular thinkers is more likely to lead to understanding rather than confrontation
• As a ‘form of life’ religion does attempt to communicate with those outside its community- for example, this is a primary aim of evangelical Christians
• Another problem is that religious statements no longer have to be true or false so theoretically people could construct a religion based on any of the most inhumane religious practices of the past and it would form a valid language game. Also believers who make assertions such as ‘there is a god’ do not normally think of these statements as Wittgenstein does
• Wittgenstein’s theory assumes that there can be no evidence for metaphysical beliefs and this is arguably false.

Question 11

What are the strengths of cognitivism?

Answer 11

• Makes factual claims that are clear and open to examination by anyone
• Most religious believers are cognitivists- they hold that their beliefs are factual. They are committed to these beliefs because that they are factual, not because they think they are non cognitive bliks

Question 12

What are the strengths of non-cognitivism?

Answer 12

• Doesn’t pretend that religious lanaguge is scientific, so it avoids challenges mounted by verification and falsification
• Reflects the distinct views and commitments of religious people
• It acknowledges that there are many different ways in which language can be meaningful