The Verification Principle

What is the Verification Principle?

belief that statements are only meaningful if they can be verified by the senses

What are strong & weak forms of verification generally associated with?

• Vienna Circle

• A.J. Ayler

What do verificationists argue about religious statements?

religious statements are meaningless as they cannot be empirically checked

How did Hume influence Verificationism?

Suggested two areas of knowledge; a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge

• rejects metaphysics including discussion of God as it can be neither of the above

How did Wittgenstein influence Verificationism?

Famously said - “whereas one cannot speak, one must remain silent”

• suggested that focusing on languages would provide a way forward for philosophers

What is The Vienna Circle?

group of philosophers who met in the 1920s and 1930s

• argued that some statements are meaningful and others were not

How does The Vienna Circle apply the Verification Principle?

Scientific claims about the world are meaningful, but religious and ethical claims are not

How is The Vienna Circle’s Verification Principle limited?

This form of the verification principle seems to rule out discussion of a number of areas that cannot be verified

• includes historical statements, discussions of scientific laws (we cannot verify that they always apply) and claims about art or beauty

What was Ayler’s Verificationism?

To be meaningful it must be either tautology (something that is true by definition) or something that is verifiable in principle

How does Ayler’s Verificationism distinguish him from the Vienna Circle?

It is the verifiable in principle that distinguishes Ayler from the Vienna Circle

• not required to conclusively prove something by direct observation - we merely have to be able to say how it would be possible to verify it

What example did Ayler use to explain his Verificationism?

‘There are mountains on the far side of the moon’

(which at the time of his writings could not be verified)

• Netherless it is a meaningful statement as if we were to orbit the moon we would be able to verify this claim

What does Tautology mean?

a phase where the same thing is said twice in different words

• e.g. three-sided triangle

What is Metaphysics?

the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of reality

• literally things ‘beyond’ or ‘after’ the physical realm

What is Ayler’s main idea with his Verificationism?

Words get their meaning by referring to things in our shared experience, or by being true by definition

• if a word connects to the world, that connection should be verifiable

What statements would Ayler’s Verificationism reject?

If a statement cannot be shown to be about anything then we cannot grant its factual cognitive meaning

• e.g. if someone uses language, but cannot show what this word refers to

For Ayler what ensures that language is meaningful?

Cognitive and Analytical or verifiable

What does Ayler conclude about God?

God is a metaphysical term - no way to empirically verify it

• Ayler concludes that he’s not even an atheist, since an atheist says they do not believe in God, but that still gives the word meaning

What is Ayler’s Verification Principle typically referred to as?

Weak Verification

Who created the Weak Verification Principle?

Ayler

What does the Weak Verification Principle conclude?

To be meaningful, language must be either a tautology or something verifiable in principle

• meaningful if its logical to assume we can verify it at a later point

How is Ayler’s Verification Principle successful?

• widens what is meaningful to discussions of historical claims and scientific laws

• religious and ethical claims are rightly executed - different to other types of statements

• softens that demand for absolute verification of a statement (weak verification)

What’s Ayler’s famous quote?

“What observations would lead him, under certain conditions, to accept the proposition as being true or rejected it as being false”

What is a criticism of the Vienna Circle’s Verification Principle?

Strong form of verification is too rigid

• absurd for some historical claims e.g. Julius Caesar coming to Britain to be classed as meaningless

How does Swinburne criticise Ayler?

Not right to rule out all religious statements

• noted that religious claims e.g. the resurrection of Jesus would be verifiable as true

What is Eschatology?

the part of theology that is concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of mankind

Who created Eschatological Verification?

Hick

What was the Eschatological Verification a challenge of?

Ayler’s rejection of religious statements

What is Hick’s Eschatological Verificationism?

argument that religious statements are meaningful eschatologically

• after death it will be possible to verify God’s existence

What example did Hick use to describe his Eschatological Verificationism?

Two travellers on a road

• travellers argue about whether the road leads to the celestial city or whether the road just ends

• when they turn the final corner of the road - one of them will be proved right