richard swinburne
how might religious experience be understood
principle of credulity:
- Principle of Credulity (P of C):
- Experience is generally reliable, even though some instances may be misleading.
- Trust in experience despite occasional errors.
- Sensory Perception:
- Our senses are not infallible but are generally trustworthy.
- Instances of sensory deception may occur, such as mistaking a stranger for someone we know.
- Trust in Recognition:
- When recognising someone familiar, trust instincts based on appearance and sound.
- If it looks, sounds, and appears recognisable, there's usually no need for suspicion.
- Application to Religious Experience:
- Apply the same trust in experiences to religious encounters.
- If one believes they are experiencing God, they should be prepared to believe it is genuinely a divine encounter.
principle of testimony:
- Veracity of Communication:
- Generally, people tend to tell the truth in most situations.
- Occasional deviations may occur due to jokes, mistakes, or intentional deceit.
- Application to Religious Experience:
- Apply the same rule to religious experiences.
- When someone claims to have had a religious experience, take it seriously rather than dismissing it outright.
- Avoid assuming it is fabricated, mistaken, or a sign of mental imbalance.
strengths:
humans wired to trust others and our senses
human instincts are usually trustworthy and he uses and example from real life to support his argument
applying occam’s razor would support the idea that people would likely be telling the truth
weaknesses:
p of c assumes that the answer is God when there could be another explanation
people do lie and not everyone can be trusted to give a genuine report
the whole theory is probable - nothing is definitive as we can never be sure if people are telling the truth or if our senses are lying, so it doesn’t really prove anything