The Falsification Debate

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  • Created by: mariam26
  • Created on: 25-03-21 15:22
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  • The Falsification Debate
    • Karl Popper
      • Once Popper introduced the notion of falsification it illustrated how statements could be proved falsifiable
    • R.M. Hare
      • Hare's notion of 'Bliks'
        • A belief that is life-changing but cannot be verified or falsified
          • University Student example - a university student who is paranoid that all his teachers are against and out to get him
            • The student has an insane blik, whilst we have a sane blik. We still have a blik due to there being two sides to any argument.
      • John Hick believes that Hare's notion of bliks contain an inconsistency
        • Hare provides no basis for distinguishing between right or wrong + sane or insane bliks
      • Hare argues that the concept of blik shows what we are doing when we make a religious statement.
        • It is not merely a sort of explanation of the world, but is completely life-changing, even though unfalsifiable.
    • Basil Mitchell
      • He wanted to maintain that religious statements are genuinely factual though not straightforwardly falsifiable
      • Basil Mitchell's Parable of the Partisan
    • John Hick
      • Hick added to Mitchell's parable
        • Presumably, the stranger himself knows whether he is telling the truth, even though the partisan is not in a position to make the judgement so there is a truth to be known about the statement
          • When the war is over, the truth will come out - either the stranger is hailed a hero or seen as a traitor
      • Eschatological verification
        • Believers with specific after beliefs will be able to verify if true, but not falsify them if they are false
    • Falsification
      • A proposition is scientific if one can state what evidence would prove it false
    • The University Debate
      • Symposium that involved Anthony Flew, Basil Mitchell, and R.M Hare.
        • In the symposium, they discussed Popper's conclusions and falsification in relation to religion
    • Antony Flew
      • Flew believed that for an assertion to be genuine, it must be falsifiable
      • Antony Flew used his Parable of the Garden to illustrate different perceptions but does not dismiss religious statements as meaningless
        • Antony Flew's Parable of the Gardener
  • Antony Flew
    • Flew believed that for an assertion to be genuine, it must be falsifiable
    • Antony Flew used his Parable of the Garden to illustrate different perceptions but does not dismiss religious statements as meaningless
      • Antony Flew's Parable of the Gardener

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