The Falsification Principle

Falsification principle originates from Karl Popper's philosophy of science: 'Statements are scientific if our emperical experiences could potentially falsify them'
- this distinguishes science from non-science
- 'Any theory that is impossible to disprove is no vallid theory at all.' - Karl Popper
Thus, that which is impossible to disprove is meaningless/invalid
The Falsification principle aims to improve upon the limitations of the Verification principle

Antony Flew applied this principle to religious language
The problem, he realised with religious language is that it cannot be falsified - it is not a genuine statement at all
Flew argues; when we say something is the case e.g. 'tigers have stripes' - we are also denying the opposite 'tigers do not, not have stripes'
when you assert something, you are also asserting that there are fact which may count against your assertion.
Flew adapted John Wisdom's Parable of the Gardener to illustrate this - two explorers in a jungle, weeds and flowers grow, one believes there is a gardener, the other does not, several attempts to find this gardener none is seen, faithful explorer does not give up their belief - just how does an invisible, intangible, eternally elusive gardener differ from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all!
Flew argues religious believer act in the same way - 'shift the goalposts', this he calls 'the death of a thousand qaulifications'

R. M. Hare responded to the falsification principle with his theory of 'Bliks'
He used the parable of the Lunatic - believed the 'dons' were after him, even the most kind and…

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