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How can we criticise A.J Ayer's Verification Principle and his 'god talk is evidently

Hi, I'm looking for strong arguments against Ayer's claims that only empirically verifiable claims are meaningful, especially using that as his basis for challenging religious experience?

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Reply 1

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Reply 2

WannaGetAnA

The verification principle is, in itself, unverifiable, because there is no way that we can possibly know that only empirical statements are meaningful.

Also, John Hick argues that Ayer was not successful in proving that religious statements are not verifiable. He spoke of the Parable of the Celestial City, in which two men are walking down a road and argue about whether the road leads to a celestial city. Hick draws the analogy between this and the claims made by the believer about God and heaven. He argued that religious statements are empirically verifiable - we will know when we die if there is a God and an afterlife.

However, some have criticised Hick, saying that when we die, we may not necessarily have the same senses to perceive things, and if there is no afterlife, there will be no one to do the verifying.

Reply 3

ChanelDeme

You could right about the implications of his argument... If u believe what he states (that everything which cannot be verified or empirically tested is nonsense) then we doubt life itself as you can't test or verify emotions such as love or relationships with people ... As well as morals or beliefs which society has as these cannot b tested or verified and therefore are 'meaningless'