[Wittrs] Re: Wittgenstein on Religious Belief
- From: "SWM" <SWMirsky@xxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:33:43 -0000
--- In Wittrs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Sean Wilson <whoooo26505@...> wrote:
>
> (to Gerardo)
>
> ... the "criticism" isn't very good.
After finishing the guy's piece, Sean, I couldn't disagree with you more! I
think it is a very astute analysis of the implications of Wittgenstein's words
in those lectures. Of course, as my response nearby shows, I have long thought
that Wittgenstein erred in this area based on my own experience. But this
writer is very sharp in homing in on just where the mistakes are to be found.
My own view is that Wittgenstein never firmed up these views in his later work
because he could see the mistakes implicit there. Nevertheless, given his
personal psychology, he couldn't help feeling drawn to religiousity and so he
compartmentalized it in his life, keeping questions of faith and their
implications, out of his formal work. Given his failure to reconcile his
personal life with his professional thinking, it was probably a good thing, too.
Of course, in the notes from those lectures and in other remarks we have from
him we have a kind of record of some of his ideas here but that shouldn't
prompt us to make too much of them. It's better to stay focused on his
"official" work, the things he wanted to retain as a permanent record for
others of his thinking.
Nevertheless I will agree with one point you make. His thinking was innovative
and insightful (if still wrong) in this area.
Perhaps this could be another topic we take up here: Whether Wittgenstein's
ideas about religion are fully formed and a meaningful way to think about
religion?
SWM
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