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Flashcards by matthewking422, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by matthewking422
almost 10 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| What is cognitive language? | Language that can be proved true or false, e.g God exists. |
| What is non-cognitive language? | Language that makes claims that can be interpreted in multiple ways, such as symbols, metaphors or ethical commands. |
| What is the problem with the claim "God loves us as a father loves his children"? | The problem of evil suffering God's punishment of sinners hell |
| What is the problem with the claim "God appeared to me in a dream"? | Psychological imagining god No reliability No evidence |
| What is the problem with the claim "God created the world" | Evolution, the big bang theory Lack of evidence conflicting religious stories |
| What is the problem with the claim "there will be a last judgement" | Lack of evidence |
| What are the other ways of referring to a) cognitive and b) non-cognitive language respectively? | a) realist language b) Ant-realist language |
| What is the purpose of symbols? Give an example | Symbols identify, they can be used to convey abstract concepts or emotions. For example, the cross symbolises the act of Christ's sacrifice, and inspires Christians to act selflessly |
| What is the difference between symbols and signs? | Signs express facts (cognitive things) whereas symbols transcend facts, and can be very rarely expressed literally. Symbols are subtle modes of communication |
| What was Tillich's view on Miracles | Tillich viewed miracles as means of expressing the nature of God |
| What is Don Cupitt's view on religious language? | That it should not be trying to express the transcendent (god) through language, but should be about expressing language |
| What are the problems with symbolic language? | Symbols can lose their meaning through interpretation Their original meaning can be lost. There meaning can be corrupted. e.g the swastika |
| What did D.Z Philips suggest about eternal life? | That it did not literally refer to eternal life, but instead was a means of expressing a quality of life not available in the present |
| What are myths? | Myths are stories that embody and express claims that cannot be expressed in any other way. |
| What are common features of myths? | Symbolism, metaphor and imagery |
| How is myth used in the bible? | Myth was used in the bible to explain puzzling concepts of the world (such as creation) and to discuss future events (for example, the end of the world) |
| What key problem did Rudolph Bultmann identify with mythological language? | Mythological form tends to obscure religious teaching in the narrative. So religious language must be demythologised |
| What is myths fundamental criticism? | That it is outdated and deals in anachronistic concepts. |
| What is the via negativa (or the apathetic way) | Since our language is not appropriate to talk about god, we shall instead take the least appropriate attributes of god and negate them. |
| What are the flaws of the via negativa? | It makes talking about god meaningless, since you can't identify him |
| What is a strength of the Via Negativa? | It reinforces the unknowableness of God |
| What did Aquinas believe in reference to analogy? | Aquinas observed that neither universal (one term with one meaning) or equivocal (multiple meanings depending on the situation) language is a good way to talk about god. Instead believed you should speak analogously of God and man |
| Give an example of analogy in reference to God. | Because God is the cause of the good things in man, we can use "good" to describe man and god. But as the cause of God's greatnesses, God's goodness is greater. |
| What is the analogy of proportion? | All good qualities belong proportionately to God and man, thus we know that proportionally they must exist in God. |
| Analogy of attribution | God is the cause of all good things in man and other beings, and thus attributes to them what belong to him first in a greater an higher sense |
| What is the principle of remoteness and excellence? | If we remove all creaturely concepts from the world and project what is left onto god, then we learn that god is without limit |
| What does it mean to say language is meaningful | Whether or not it has meaning, or makes sense |
| What is an analytic statement | Something true by definition e.g 2+2=4 or Something blue is blue |
| What is a synthetic statement? | A statement that can be proven true or false by experience |
| What is the verification principle? | Only assertions that are empirically verifiable have meaning. Something that has no way of being verifiable must be analytic or meaningless |
| What is weak verification? | Something that cannot be proven now, but can be proven one day can still have meaning E.G. in 1900 "there is no life on mars" could not be verified, so was meaningless, but now we are able to verify that. |
| What are the implications for religious language? | 1)statements about God are neither analytically true, nor open to verification by observation and therefore are meaningless. 2) since religious claims are subjective, there are no grounds for testing them |
| What are the wider implications of the verification principle | All statements which express unverifiable opinions or emotions are invalid, as are all ethical statements. Universal statements such as "all ravens are black" cannot be conclusively verified, since it is possible that someone will find a white one |
| What are the three language suppositions that support the view that religious language is meaningless? | Empiricism Science The work of Wittgenstein |
| How does Empiricism support the view that religious language is meaningful? | Since many view sensory experience is the primary source of knowledge. Since Religious language claims are non-empirical, as they cannot be proven. |
| How does Science support the view that religious language is meaningful? | Since science is based on objective truths, science can assert facts and know things, whereas religious language can't, since it's based on faith. |
| How does The work of Wittgenstein support the view that religious language is meaningful? | His picture theory of language argues that language is derived from our picture of the world, so it is all based on experience |
| What are the advantages of Ludwig Wittgenstein's language games theory? | It recognises the distinctive and non-cognitive nature of religious language and distinguishes it from normal language It unites believes inn a common bond and provides boundaries for the correct use of language. |
| What are the language games? | A theory created by Wittgentstein, that as all language is based on experience, you cannot "play the language game" (properly communicate) with someone who is in a different game (has different experiences) |
| What are the weaknesses of the language games? | Language games do not allow for believers claims to be objectively true. Because religions are distinct from each other, they alienate each other Who makes the rules of the language game? |
| What is Anthony Flew's falsification principle? | Anthony Flew used the parable of the gardener, to illustrate how believers are guilty of not allowing evidence to dis/prove the existence and love of god |
| According to Flew what do believers make god do? | "die a death of a thousand qualifications" |
| What was R.M.Hare's comments on the falsification principle? | A believers statements are BLIKS, ways of regarding the world which are neither verifiable nor falsifiable. However because of the significance it has to their life, it is not meaningless. |
| What did Basil Mitchell say in reference to the falsification principle? | Some believers do recognise challenges to faith, without allowing them to be conclusively falsified. (the parable of the partisan and the stranger) |
| What did Richard Swinburne argue? | That statements which cannot be falsified are still meaningful to those who use them |
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