AQA A-level RELIGIOUS STUDIES
What is Logical Positivism? - ANSWER A philosophical approach pioneered by a
group of scientists and philosophers who came together as the 'Vienna Circle' in the
1920s. They pushed the Verification Principle.
What is the Verification Principle? - ANSWER From the perspective of A.J. Ayer (a
supporter of the principle), religious statements are literally meaningless because -
much like moral statements - they say nothing about the world and have no verifiably
factual content. Religious statements are neither valid nor invalid, neither true nor
false. This also applies to statements from atheists and agnostics.
What is the Falsification Principle? - ANSWER A sentence is factually significant if -
and only if - there is some form of evidence which could FALSIFY it. This approach
forces religious believers to explain why religious 'facts' are not like ordinary 'facts'.
What is the 'Parable of the Gardener'? - ANSWER Told originally by John Wisdom
and developed by Antony Flew. It details the disagreement between between two
explorers in the jungle, who come across a clearing with flowers and weeds. One
says there must be a gardener and the other says there can't be. After a series of
tests to determine if there is a gardener, that one explorer continues to insist there
must be a gardener, and eventually the other explorer says "But what remains of
your original assertion? Just how does what you call an invisible, intangible, eternally
elusive gardener differ from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all?"
Who was Karl Popper and what did he have to do with the Falsification Principle? -
ANSWER
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Gardener? - ANSWER
What is Hick's Replica theory? - ANSWER
Hick uses his Parable of the Celestial City to back up what point? - ANSWER That
the Christian concept of God will be verified eschatologically, so religious language is
cognitive.
What is the Parable of the Celestial City? - ANSWER
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Celestial City? - ANSWER
What is a blik? - ANSWER
What is the Parable of the Lunatic? - ANSWER
How does the Parable of the Lunatic illustrate Hare's bliks? - ANSWER
How does Flew respond to Hare? - ANSWER
What is Logical Positivism? - ANSWER A philosophical approach pioneered by a
group of scientists and philosophers who came together as the 'Vienna Circle' in the
1920s. They pushed the Verification Principle.
What is the Verification Principle? - ANSWER From the perspective of A.J. Ayer (a
supporter of the principle), religious statements are literally meaningless because -
much like moral statements - they say nothing about the world and have no verifiably
factual content. Religious statements are neither valid nor invalid, neither true nor
false. This also applies to statements from atheists and agnostics.
What is the Falsification Principle? - ANSWER A sentence is factually significant if -
and only if - there is some form of evidence which could FALSIFY it. This approach
forces religious believers to explain why religious 'facts' are not like ordinary 'facts'.
What is the 'Parable of the Gardener'? - ANSWER Told originally by John Wisdom
and developed by Antony Flew. It details the disagreement between between two
explorers in the jungle, who come across a clearing with flowers and weeds. One
says there must be a gardener and the other says there can't be. After a series of
tests to determine if there is a gardener, that one explorer continues to insist there
must be a gardener, and eventually the other explorer says "But what remains of
your original assertion? Just how does what you call an invisible, intangible, eternally
elusive gardener differ from an imaginary gardener or even from no gardener at all?"
Who was Karl Popper and what did he have to do with the Falsification Principle? -
ANSWER
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Gardener? - ANSWER
What is Hick's Replica theory? - ANSWER
Hick uses his Parable of the Celestial City to back up what point? - ANSWER That
the Christian concept of God will be verified eschatologically, so religious language is
cognitive.
What is the Parable of the Celestial City? - ANSWER
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Celestial City? - ANSWER
What is a blik? - ANSWER
What is the Parable of the Lunatic? - ANSWER
How does the Parable of the Lunatic illustrate Hare's bliks? - ANSWER
How does Flew respond to Hare? - ANSWER
