Can religious language be meaningful?

Can religious

language be

meaningful?

Today’s lesson will be successful if you can:Explain the Verification PrincipleCritique the Verification Principle

We started on Tuesday looking at the word ‘meaning’. This is because we need to find out if religious language is meaningful.

Before we do this – try the activity on the sheet. Can you work out whether these statements are ‘meaningful’?

(Philosophy of Religion Statements Sheet)

Using the words from your glossary, make a bingo grid with 6 words.

Can you a) recogniseb) explain these words in relation to the Verification

Principle

Starter:Make a 6 grid Bingo grid with the following words:

The

Verifi

catio

n Pr

incip

le Statements that cannot be empirically verified are meaningless”

Who

wer

e th

e Vi

enna

Circ

le?

Brainstorm everything you have learned about the Vienna Circle.

• A Group of Philosophers in the 1920’s and 30s’ in VIENNA

• Wittgenstein was a strong influence on them

• They followed the thoughts of E Comte• Led by a writer called Moritz Schlick• They believed that theology was an

outdated way of looking at religion was outdated

• Known as logical positivists (evidence based)

Starter:Sort these into Analytic and Synthetic statements

All bachelors are unmarried

All men are arrogant

The president is dishonest

Daisies are flowers

Triangles have three sidesTwo halves make a whole

The table in the kitchen is round

Frozen water is ice

Love of money is the root of all evil

God is Good There is life on other planets

Dog’s bark

The strong verification principle states that only statements that are analytic or empirically verifiable are meaningful. All other statements are meaningless (not false).

There are 180 degrees in a triangle

Which of these statements are empirically verifiable?

God exists Jesus livedHurray

I will go to heaven when I dieI love my dog

Henry VIII was the King of England

Create a table, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the Vienna Circle verification principle

Advantages Disadvantages

Ideas for extra studyHomework task: when you are at home, go to youtube logical positivism radio 4. Listen and make notes on logical positivism (verification principle)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heTZPZhw2k0

Textbook – pages 227-230

Philosophy of Religion (Cole) Chapter 11(This is a slightly harder read)

Preparation from Religious Language Booklet – Falsification Principle

The Weak Verification PrincipleA J Ayer

The key difference: a statement may not be provable: however it may be possible to show that it is probably true beyond all reasonable doubt.

Ayer’s version allows us to make statements about the past, people’s emotions and to make predictions in science.

However, and key here is that Ayer believed that religion and ethics are NOT

Create a table, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of the Ayer’s weak verification Principle

Advantages Disadvantages

So, because God/Religion cannot be empirically verified, to describe God/Religion as anything is meaningless.John Hick (1922 – 2012) came up with the a BRILLIANT argument against logical positivism – we cannot empirically verify the existence of God this side of heaven!We may be able to sometime in the future. Now, who can argue with that!

Ayer’s response was to argue that the verification principle only applied to statements and propositions, not whole theories

2 Choices:

1)Compare the strong and weak verification principle. Outline the strengths and weaknesses of both.

2)Stretch and Challenge option ‘The Verification Principle cannot be verified’ Write a couple of paragraphs explaining this point and considering whether Ayer’s criticism is sufficient.

So… can religious

language be

meaningful?

According to the verification

principle, can religious

language be

verifiable…..why?