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Missing the entire point: Wittgenstein and religion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2001

DUNCAN RICHTER
DUNCAN RICHTER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, VA 24450
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Abstract

In this paper I contrast some widespread ideas about what Wittgenstein said about religious belief with statements Wittgenstein made about his purposes and method in doing philosophy, in order to argue that he did not hold the views commonly attributed to him. These allegedly Wittgensteinian doctrines in fact essentialize religion in a very un-Wittgensteinian way. A truly Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion can only be a personal process, and there can be no part in it for generalized hypotheses or conclusions about religion in general.

Why is it that in this case I seem to be missing the entire point?1

Type
Research Article
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 37 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 161 - 175
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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