Wittgenstein and Theology

Wittgenstein and Theology PDF Author: Tim Labron
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567601056
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Does Wittgenstein's philosophy lead to atheism? Is it clearly religious? Perplexingly, both of these questions have been answered in the affirmative. Despite the increasing awareness and use of Wittgenstein's philosophy within theological circles the puzzle persists: 'Does his philosophy really fit with theology?' It is helpful to show that Wittgenstein has no agenda towards atheism or religious belief in order to move ahead and properly discuss his philosophy as it stands. A study of Wittgenstein's key concepts of logic and language in his major works from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty reveals how he came to see in his later work that meaning is not simply intuitive or a consequence of solitary empirical investigation; rather, meaning is shown in how words are woven into the community of concrete life practices. A discussion of Christology and Luther's distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross provide clear theological analogies for Wittgenstein's later philosophy. It also provides important evidence to show-through examples of scripture, liturgy, and practice-that Wittgenstein's philosophy is a useful tool that can fit with theology.

Wittgenstein and Theology

Wittgenstein and Theology PDF Author: Tim Labron
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567601056
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Get Book Here

Book Description
Does Wittgenstein's philosophy lead to atheism? Is it clearly religious? Perplexingly, both of these questions have been answered in the affirmative. Despite the increasing awareness and use of Wittgenstein's philosophy within theological circles the puzzle persists: 'Does his philosophy really fit with theology?' It is helpful to show that Wittgenstein has no agenda towards atheism or religious belief in order to move ahead and properly discuss his philosophy as it stands. A study of Wittgenstein's key concepts of logic and language in his major works from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty reveals how he came to see in his later work that meaning is not simply intuitive or a consequence of solitary empirical investigation; rather, meaning is shown in how words are woven into the community of concrete life practices. A discussion of Christology and Luther's distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross provide clear theological analogies for Wittgenstein's later philosophy. It also provides important evidence to show-through examples of scripture, liturgy, and practice-that Wittgenstein's philosophy is a useful tool that can fit with theology.

Wittgenstein and Theology

Wittgenstein and Theology PDF Author: Tim Labron
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567199851
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Does Wittgenstein's philosophy lead to atheism? Is it clearly religious? Perplexingly, both of these questions have been answered in the affirmative. Despite the increasing awareness and use of Wittgenstein's philosophy within theological circles the puzzle persists: 'Does his philosophy really fit with theology?' It is helpful to show that Wittgenstein has no agenda towards atheism or religious belief in order to move ahead and properly discuss his philosophy as it stands. A study of Wittgenstein's key concepts of logic and language in his major works from the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus to the Philosophical Investigations and On Certainty reveals how he came to see in his later work that meaning is not simply intuitive or a consequence of solitary empirical investigation; rather, meaning is shown in how words are woven into the community of concrete life practices. A discussion of Christology and Luther's distinction between the theologian of glory and the theologian of the cross provide clear theological analogies for Wittgenstein's later philosophy. It also provides important evidence to show-through examples of scripture, liturgy, and practice-that Wittgenstein's philosophy is a useful tool that can fit with theology.

The Great Riddle

The Great Riddle PDF Author: Stephen Mulhall
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191071617
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 147

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Book Description
Can we talk meaningfully about God? The theological movement known as Grammatical Thomism affirms that religious language is nonsensical, because the reality of God is beyond our capacity for expression. Stephen Mulhall critically evaluates the claims of this movement (as exemplified in the work of Herbert McCabe and David Burrell) to be a legitimate inheritor of Wittgenstein's philosophical methods as well as Aquinas's theological project. The major obstacle to this claim is that Grammatical Thomism makes the nonsensicality of religious language when applied to God a touchstone of Thomist insight, whereas 'nonsense' is standardly taken to be solely a term of criticism in Wittgenstein's work. Mulhall argues that, if Wittgenstein is read in the terms provided by the work of Cora Diamond and Stanley Cavell, then a place can be found in both his early work and his later writings for a more positive role to be assigned to nonsensical utterances—one which depends on exploiting an analogy between religious language and riddles. And once this alignment between Wittgenstein and Aquinas is established, it also allows us to see various ways in which his later work has a perfectionist dimension—in that it overlaps with the concerns of moral perfectionism, and in that it attributes great philosophical significance to what theology and philosophy have traditionally called 'perfections' and 'transcendentals', particularly concepts such as Being, Truth, and Unity or Oneness. This results in a radical reconception of the role of analogous usage in language, and so in the relation between philosophy and theology.

Theology After Wittgenstein

Theology After Wittgenstein PDF Author: Fergus Kerr
Publisher: SPCK Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
"Intended primarily to introduce Wittgenstein to students of theology, but aimed also at philosophers interested in religion, the book focuses on those of Wittgenstein's writings (primarily in the Philosophical investigations) that relate to theological issues such as the inner life, the immortality of the soul and the relationship of the believer to church and tradtion. By taking up the main points raised by reviewers of the first edition, the author responds in his new material to a wide range of recent literature and other interpretations of Wittengenstein's -- often seemingly ambiguous -- religious positions, and in so doing paints an absorbing picture, for a fresh set of readers, of how theology might look 'after Wittgenstein'."--Last page of cover.

Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics

Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics PDF Author: Mikel Burley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350151343
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an outstanding 20th-century philosopher whose influence has reverberated throughout not only philosophy but also numerous other areas of inquiry, including theology and the study of religions. Exemplifying how Wittgenstein's thought can be engaged with both sympathetically and critically, Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics pushes forward our thinking about religion and ethics and their place in the modern world. Bringing Wittgenstein's ideas into productive dialogue with several other important thinkers, including Elizabeth Anscombe, St Thomas Aquinas, Georg Cantor, Søren Kierkegaard and George Orwell, this collection fosters a highly informative picture of how different strands of contemporary and historical thought intersect and bear upon one another. Chapters are written by leading scholars in the field and tackle current debates concerning religious and ethical matters, with particular attention to the nature of religious language. This is a substantial contribution to religion and ethics, demonstrating the significance of Wittgenstein's ideas for these and related subjects.

Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics

Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics PDF Author: Mikel Burley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350050229
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein was an outstanding 20th-century philosopher whose influence has reverberated throughout not only philosophy but also numerous other areas of inquiry, including theology and the study of religions. Exemplifying how Wittgenstein's thought can be engaged with both sympathetically and critically, Wittgenstein, Religion and Ethics pushes forward our thinking about religion and ethics and their place in the modern world. Bringing Wittgenstein's ideas into productive dialogue with several other important thinkers, including Elizabeth Anscombe, St Thomas Aquinas, Georg Cantor, Søren Kierkegaard and George Orwell, this collection fosters a highly informative picture of how different strands of contemporary and historical thought intersect and bear upon one another. Chapters are written by leading scholars in the field and tackle current debates concerning religious and ethical matters, with particular attention to the nature of religious language. This is a substantial contribution to religion and ethics, demonstrating the significance of Wittgenstein's ideas for these and related subjects.

Augustine and Wittgenstein

Augustine and Wittgenstein PDF Author: Kim Paffenroth
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1498585272
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
This collection examines the relationship between Augustine and Wittgenstein and demonstrates the deep affinity they share, not only for the substantive issues they treat but also for the style of philosophizing they employ. Wittgenstein saw certain salient Augustinian approaches to concepts like language-learning, will, memory, and time as prompts for his own philosophical explorations, and he found great inspiration in Augustine’s highly personalized and interlocutory style of writing philosophy. Each in his own way, in an effort to understand human experience more fully, adopts a mode of philosophizing that involves questioning, recognizing confusions, and confronting doubts. Beyond its bearing on such topics as language, meaning, knowledge, and will, their analysis extends to the nature of religious belief and its fundamental place in human experience. The essays collected here consider a broad range of themes, from issues regarding teaching, linguistic meaning, and self-understanding to miracles, ritual, and religion.

Wittgenstein and Philosophy of Religion

Wittgenstein and Philosophy of Religion PDF Author: Robert L. Arrington
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415335553
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
An exciting introduction to the contribution which Wittgenstein made to the philosophy of religion.

Wittgenstein: From Mysticism to Ordinary Language

Wittgenstein: From Mysticism to Ordinary Language PDF Author: Russell Nieli
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438414714
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Wittgenstein: From Mysticism to Ordinary Language presents the Tractatus as a work of mystic theology intended to direct the reader to a transcendental plane from which human existence can be viewed from the divine perspective. More than any other work on Wittgenstein, this study integrates text material with personal biographical information, especially information dealing with his spiritual and psychological states. The result is a fresh, coherent, and extremely illuminating picture of Wittgenstein, successfully avoiding the pitfalls of either psychological reductionism or unfaithfulness to the text. It is bold without being reckless, passionately argued without being doctrinaire, and makes a very powerful and persuasive case for its main thesis.

Wittgenstein, Grammar, and God

Wittgenstein, Grammar, and God PDF Author: Alan Keightley
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498207502
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Wittgenstein, Grammar, and God attempts to clarify the nature of what has come to be called the Wittgenstenian approach to religious belief, and to demonstrate the radicality of its challenge to contemporary ways of studying and assessing religion. Apart from Wittgenstein's own work, it pays close attention to his present day followers, D. Z. Phillips, R. Rhees, etc. It examines the central questions of the meaning of God and reductionism, but the book also tries to show how the debate about Wittgenstein impinges upon the problems of the contemporary theologian. In short, this study attempts to cast a fresh perspective on the quest for clarity on our understanding of religion.