AQA A-Level Philosophy Paper 2 Metaphysics of God - Religious Langua
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fxlplw
1. What is cognitivism?: A sentence is meaningful insofar as it is makes claim
about the world and so the truth conditions for the statement can be clearly stated.
Cognitivists argue that a meaningful sentence is one that expresses a
belief about the world
2. What is cognitivism when applied to religious language?: When someone
makes a religious statement such as 'God exists' They are asserting a proposition
that is intended to describe the way the world is and it is therefore either true or
false.
3. What are two theories that dispute the meaningfulness of religious lan-
guage?: Verification
Falsifiability
4. What is the verification principle?: A statement is cognitively meaningful if and
only if it is either analytic or (in principle) empirically verifiable. Developed by A.J.
Ayer. Part of the logical positivist Vienna Circle.
Ayer used the ideas of the logical positivists and Hume's fork applying them to all
areas of philosophy.
5. How is the verification principle applied to religious language?: Carnap -
'The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language'
By its nature - discussing that which is metaphysical is not verifiable.
Hume's fork and the VP demonstrate that any claims about God or religion rely on
metaphysical claims and are therefore meaningless.
Ayer attacks a priori attempts to demonstrate God's existence (ontological argu-
ment). You cannot prove existence a priori
Ayer attacks a posteriori attempts to demonstrate God's existence because they rely
on premises that contain metaphysical terms that cannot be verified and therefore
have no meaning!
6. What is strong vs weak verification?: Strong verification - verifiable in practice
- can verify it via sense experience in the here an now!
Weak verification - verifiable in principle - a statement is meaningful if we can identify
what observations would count for / against a claim.
7. What are some criticisms of the verification principle?: Reduces too much
language to meaningless utterances
(art, beauty, inner feelings, poetry, metaphor, symbolism, ethics)
1/4
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fxlplw
1. What is cognitivism?: A sentence is meaningful insofar as it is makes claim
about the world and so the truth conditions for the statement can be clearly stated.
Cognitivists argue that a meaningful sentence is one that expresses a
belief about the world
2. What is cognitivism when applied to religious language?: When someone
makes a religious statement such as 'God exists' They are asserting a proposition
that is intended to describe the way the world is and it is therefore either true or
false.
3. What are two theories that dispute the meaningfulness of religious lan-
guage?: Verification
Falsifiability
4. What is the verification principle?: A statement is cognitively meaningful if and
only if it is either analytic or (in principle) empirically verifiable. Developed by A.J.
Ayer. Part of the logical positivist Vienna Circle.
Ayer used the ideas of the logical positivists and Hume's fork applying them to all
areas of philosophy.
5. How is the verification principle applied to religious language?: Carnap -
'The Elimination of Metaphysics Through Logical Analysis of Language'
By its nature - discussing that which is metaphysical is not verifiable.
Hume's fork and the VP demonstrate that any claims about God or religion rely on
metaphysical claims and are therefore meaningless.
Ayer attacks a priori attempts to demonstrate God's existence (ontological argu-
ment). You cannot prove existence a priori
Ayer attacks a posteriori attempts to demonstrate God's existence because they rely
on premises that contain metaphysical terms that cannot be verified and therefore
have no meaning!
6. What is strong vs weak verification?: Strong verification - verifiable in practice
- can verify it via sense experience in the here an now!
Weak verification - verifiable in principle - a statement is meaningful if we can identify
what observations would count for / against a claim.
7. What are some criticisms of the verification principle?: Reduces too much
language to meaningless utterances
(art, beauty, inner feelings, poetry, metaphor, symbolism, ethics)
1/4
