Religious Language - Anthony Flew theology and falsification anthology

What is the falsification principle

a way of thinking about scientific knowledge, applied by Flew to religion to assess the meaningfulness of religious language

the parable of the Garden and representations and what does it illustrate

- the problem of unfalsifiable religious language

- the jungle represents the world

- the flower represents order, beauty and goodness in the world

- the weeds represent disorder suffering and evil

In Flew's parable who does the explorer who believes in the garden represents?

a religious believer

In Flews parable who does the sceptic explorer represent

an atheist likewise to DAVID HUME

what does the religious believer do after each test fails

adjust his definition of God to explain Gods failure to act

what does the sceptic accuse the believer of?

believing in a God who is no different from an imaginary God or no God at all

what does the parable of the gardener illustrate about religious language

how the falsification principle applies to it

what does Flew think christians have done by making their God unfalsifiable

made their religious language meaningless

What Is John Hick's idea that links to the clearing containing both flowers and weeds

that the universe is religiously ambitious

what does flew explain about religious belief

how religious belief dies 'the death by a thousand qualifications'

what does flew argue religious belief starts as

an assertion

what does flew argue religious belief ends up as

a 'picture preference' just an act of imagination

"What does Flew call 'checking'?"

"Stopping the process of qualification."

"What is Flew's memorable phrase about qualifying an idea so much it can never be disproved?"

"'Death by a thousand qualifications'."

"What is Flew attacking?"

"A development in Christian theology, the idea of liberal religion."

"Who is an example of a philosopher who pioneered liberal religion?"

"Paul Tillich."

"What phrase did Tillich often use instead of 'God'?"

"'The ground of being'."

"What did Kant argue about phenomenal and noumenal reality?"

"That God would be part of the ultimate noumenal reality which is beyond our knowledge."

"What does liberal religion not believe in?"

"A literal heaven or hell, Devil, Adam & Eve, Jesus' resurrection, miracles or even a literal 'God'."

"What does Flew think he has identified with religious language?"

"The key problem - it isn't falsifiable."

"What does Flew describe the propositions 'God has a plan'

'God created the world', and 'God loves us' as?","'Assertions' - propositions or truth-claims."

"What does Flew think of liberal believers who see religious statements as 'crypto-commands'?"

"He doesn't think this sort of liberal belief is 'properly orthodox'."

"If you say that 'God has a plan'

what must be possible?","For things to happen that go against that plan."

"What does saying 'God created the world' mean?"

"That certain other theories about how the world came to be here must be ruled out."

"What must the claim that 'God loves us' mean?"

"That there are some things he wouldn't allow to happen to us."

"What did Darwin's ideas create?"

"The modern split between liberals and fundamentalists."

"What did liberals do in response to Darwin's ideas?"

"Accepted scientific findings but changed their understanding of God as a creator."

"What did fundamentalists do in response to Darwin's ideas?"

"Rejected scientific findings but kept their traditional understanding of God."

"What are liberals doing when they change their original beliefs?"

"'Qualifying' their original beliefs."

"What are fundamentalists doing when they believe in spite of contradictory evidence?"

"Believing in spite of contradictory evidence."

"What does Flew spell out?"

"The Falsification Principle and how it applies to religious language."

"What is Flew's famous summary of the Falsification Principle?"

"'To assert that such-and-such is the case is necessarily equivalent to denying that such-and-such is not the case'."

"What is Flew accusing religious statements of being?"

"Meaningless."

"Who does Flew particularly target?"

"Liberal religious language."

"What does Flew challenge the other symposiasts to answer?"

"What would count for them as disproof of God?"

"What does Flew suggest if the answer to his challenge is 'Nothing'?"

"Belief in God is meaningless."

"What example does Flew give to illustrate his challenge?"

"A child dying from throat cancer."

"What two explanations does Flew suggest for God's apparent lack of concern?"

"God's love is 'not a merely human love' or God's love is 'an inscrutable love'."

"What is Flew's conclusion if a believer maintains a belief in a loving God regardless of what happens?"

"That belief is a meaningless belief."

"What does Flew focus on?"

"The idea of a loving God."

"What are some examples of things that might falsify religious belief?"

"Discovering Jesus' skeleton or a copy of the Quran from before Muhammad's life."

"What do Flew and many other atheists suspect religious believers would do?"

"Carry on believing, despite disproof."

"What does John Frame propose?"

"A different version of the Parable of the Gardener."

"What is Frame's response to the Falsification Principle?"

"A _tu quoque_ (Latin for 'you too')."

"What is Frame suggesting?"

"That atheist beliefs are also non-falsifiable."

"What is Frame challenging atheists with?"

"A similar question to Flew's: what would count as disproof of the belief that there is no God?"

"What does Frame's parable suggest about atheism if atheists pick holes in every proof of God's existence?"

"Atheism is also unfalsifiable - and therefore meaningless."

"What is the significance of Antony Flew and R.M. Hare's 1971 essay?"

"It addresses the implications of the Falsification Principle for Religious Language."

"Who originally proposed the Falsification Principle?"

"Karl Popper proposed it as a way of thinking about scientific knowledge."

"What is Flew's challenge to the other philosophers?"

"To explain what would count as disproving the existence of a loving God."

"What does Flew call statements that make claims that might be true?"

"'Assertions'."

"What does Flew argue about religious statements?"

"They aren't really assertions at all, because they're not saying anything that can be denied."

"What does Flew target in particular?"

"Liberal religious language which has been qualified to the point where it has become meaningless."

"What does Flew think liberal Christians have reduced God to?"

"Something that just means 'the evolutionary process' and doesn't actually do anything."

"What problem do fundamentalist Christians have?"

"By rejecting scientific criticism, they also protect their idea of God from being disproved, but they also make it a meaningless idea."

"What does Flew give as a clear summary of?"

"The Falsification Principle."

"What is the key problem with religious language according to Flew?"

"It isn't falsifiable."

"What does Flew give examples of?"

"Religious propositions that illustrate his point."

"What concept did R.M. Hare introduce in response to Flew's challenge?"

"The concept of _bliks_, which are unfalsifiable but meaningful ideas."

"What is the Parable of the Paranoid Student about?"

"It illustrates the idea of _bliks_ through a student who believes his teachers are plotting to kill him."

"What does Hare say about the paranoid student's belief?"

"It affects the student's behavior and how others perceive him, making it meaningful."

"What is Hare's main point about 'meaningful belief'?"

"It needs to include more than just being falsifiable; a non-falsifiable belief can still be meaningful."

"Define 'bliks' according to Hare."

"_Bliks_ are worldviews which are meaningful but unverifiable and unfalsifiable."

"How does a 'blik' influence the interpretation of facts?"

"A _blik_ is logically prior to the facts; it tells you how to interpret the world and what counts as a fact."

"What does it mean to 'cherry pick' facts in relation to 'bliks'?"

"It means selectively choosing facts that support (verify) their _bliks_ and ignoring those that contradict them."

"Give an example of a commonplace 'blik' provided by Hare."

"The _blik_ about driving being safe, despite awareness of car crashes."

"What does Hare say about falsifying a 'blik'?"

"No evidence can ever falsify a _blik_. Nothing counts as disproving a _blik_."

"What is 'Weltanschauung'?"

"A German word meaning 'world-view' or picture of the world, similar to a _blik_."

"What term did Thomas Kuhn use to describe 'bliks' in science?"

"Paradigm."

"What are language games in the context of Wittgenstein?"

"They also seem to be _bliks_."

"What term do psychologists use that is similar to 'blik'?"

"Schema."

"What term do sociologists use that is similar to 'blik'?"

"Ideology."

"What word do religious believers use that is similar to 'blik'?"

"Faith."

"What is the function of a 'blik'?"

"It's like a mental filter, letting in some of reality while keeping out other aspects."

"Give examples of 'insane bliks'."

"Paranoid delusions."

"Give examples of 'evil bliks'."

"Racism, sexism, and religious bigotry."

"What does the text say about changing 'bliks'?"

"People are rarely argued into these changes."

"To whose theory of knowledge does Hare link the idea of 'bliks'?"

"David Hume."

"What is Hume famous for?"

"His scepticism - the idea that all knowledge should be doubted."

"What is induction?"

"The process of drawing general conclusions from factual experience."

"What assumption does Hume point out about inductive arguments?"

"They assume that things that have been experienced in the past will be repeated in the future."

"What is the 'problem of induction'?"

"The lack of a rational basis for assuming the future will resemble the past."

"What does Hume suggest we have instead of a rational basis for induction?"

"A custom or habit of expecting the future to resemble the past."

"What does Hare say 'bliks' are the basis for?"

"All our thinking - not just religious thinking and delusions."

"What is the quote from Psalm 75 used to illuminate?"

"Hare's idea of _bliks_."

"What is the common interpretation of the Psalm 75 quote?"

"That the physical world would collapse if God didn't sustain it."

"How does Hare interpret the Psalm 75 quote differently?"

"Human knowledge is weak, but your _blik_ is like God, since it 'bears up the pillars' of everything else you know."

"What are axioms in mathematics?"

"Foundational statements that are accepted without further proof."

"What did Immanuel Kant argue about knowledge?"

"We can only have knowledge of phenomenal reality through the five senses, but noumenal reality is always beyond our grasp."

"How does Kant's argument relate to 'bliks'?"

"It explains why we cannot settle whether a _blik_ is right or wrong by appealing to evidence and facts."

"How does John Hick's Pluralistic Hypothesis relate to 'bliks'?"

"Hick regards religious experiences as rather like _bliks_ because the reality of the divine can't be grasped by the human mind."

"What is Hare's response to Flew's criticism of religious language?"

"Religious statements are not scientific propositions and don't need to be falsifiable."

"What does Hare say about modern religious believers?"

"They don't believe in a God that literally holds the world in place; instead, it is a _blik_."

"What was Laplace's response to Napoleon about God's role in his model of the solar system?"

"Je n'avais pas besoin de cette hypothèse-là ('I had no need of that hypothesis')."

"What does Hare suggest about atheists like Flew?"

"They have an out-of-date, redundant view of God that Christians have moved on from."

"What is Hare's final example of 'bliks' in action?"

"The _blik_ that everything that happens, happens by chance."

"What does Hare think a theist's 'blik' says?"

"That the world is the creation of a loving God."

"What is the Anti-Realist Challenge to religious language?"

"Hare's idea of _bliks_ is a contribution to it. Hare is denying that religious statements are factual statements."

"What might an atheist reply to Hare's idea of 'bliks'?"

"Many religious beliefs _are_ factual statements and demand to be treated as such."

"What is a common criticism of liberal religion?"

"That they 'water down' Christian beliefs to make them into something that can't be objected to."