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Religious Experience

Credulity, Testimony and Swinburne

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1

Overview

Recall questions on the principles of credulity and testimony and on what defeats them.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

According to the principle of testimony, how should we treat reports of others' experiences?

Key term

How does Swinburne argue religious experiences should be treated compared to ordinary perceptual experiences?

Key term

How does known dishonesty defeat the principle of testimony?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What does the principle of credulity state about how we should treat apparent perceptions?

    Model answer

    If it seems to a person that something is present, then probably it is present, unless there are special considerations to the contrary.

  2. 2

    According to the principle of testimony, how should we treat reports of others' experiences?

    Model answer

    The experiences of others are probably as they report them, unless there are special reasons to doubt their testimony.

  3. 3

    How does Swinburne argue religious experiences should be treated compared to ordinary perceptual experiences?

    Model answer

    Religious experiences should be treated with the same initial trust as ordinary perceptual experiences.

  4. 4

    How does an unreliable subject defeat the principle of credulity?

    Model answer

    If the person having the experience is known to be unreliable (e.g., prone to hallucinations or delusions), this provides grounds for doubting that what they perceived was actually present.

  5. 5

    How do unfavourable perceptual conditions defeat the principle of credulity?

    Model answer

    If the conditions were not conducive to accurate perception (e.g., darkness, intoxication, extreme fatigue), this gives reason to doubt the reliability of what was perceived.

  6. 6

    How does counter-evidence against an object's presence defeat the principle of credulity?

    Model answer

    If there is strong evidence that the perceived object was not actually present, this overrides the initial presumption that the perception was accurate.

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