Swinburne - Veracity

Swinburne - Veracity

1. 'Principle of credulity'

   • Good reason to believe what a person says
   • Even a sole witness still counts as a witness
   • In general, people are honest
   • 'Post-truth' age - poeple lie all the time

2. 'Principle of Testimony'

   • Reasonable to believe what someone tells you
   • We would tend to believe our best friends if they claimed RE
   • 'Boy who cried wolf' - reputation for truth
   • Reliable source
   • Assumes humans are calculabe/rational

3. Grounds to reject evidence

   • 1. Reason to believe the person is mistaken (e.g. hallucination)
   • 2. 'Strong' reasons to believe God doesn't exist
   • 3. Evidence that an event wasn't caused by God (e.g. confusing a set of twins)

4. Recognition

   • Religious people are more likely to recognise an experience as religious
   • We recognise a telephone because we know what a telephone is
   • People use their beliefs
   • Just as likely that religious people see normal things but are prejudiced

5. Repeatedly asks for proof of a negative