Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion

Duncan Pritchard is UC Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Knowledge, Technology & Society at the University of California, Irvine. His main field of expertise is epistemology, including the epistemology of religious belief and the significance of Wittgenstein’s later thought for contemporary epistemology. Nuno Venturinha is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at NOVA University Lisbon. He is a recognised authority on Wittgenstein, epistemology and contextualist approaches to belief and meaning.

• Acknowledgements xNotes on Contributors xiList of Abbreviations of Wittgenstein’s WorksList of Figures xviiiIntroduction: Removing Misconceptions 1Nuno Venturinha and Duncan PritchardReferences 11Part I Beyond Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism 151 Wittgenstein on Religious Faith and Beauty 17Hanne Appelqvist1.1 Introduction 171.2 ‘God does not reveal himself in the world’ 201.3 ‘He is seeing his life as God’s work of art’ 251.4 ‘I spoke in the first person’ 311.5 Epilogue 37References 382 No Gaseous Vertebrates: Wittgenstein’s ‘Third Way’ 41Genia Schönbaumsfeld2.1 Introduction 412.2 Wittgenstein’s Conception of Religious Belief 422.3 Implications for the Meaning of Religious Language 482.4 Some More Objections 532.5 Conclusion 56References 57Part II From Fideism to Quasi-Fideism 593 Was Wittgenstein a Fideist? 61Gordon Graham3.1 Fideism 633.2 The Lecture on Ethics 663.3 Culture and Value 69References 724 ‘Undermining Reason’: Logic, Exemplarity and Religious Belief 73Edward Guetti4.1 Introduction 734.2 The Logical Mechanics of the 1938 Position 784.3 Winch’s Suggestion and the Tractatus 884.4 Conclusion 91References 935 The Ghost of the Tractatus: Fideism, Scepticism and ‘Hinge’ Epistemology 95Michael Williams5.1 Introduction 955.2 Religion Without Epistemology? 965.3 From Hinge Epistemology to Quasi-Fideism 1005.4 Hinges as Knowledge 1045.5 The Limits of Doubt 1085.6 Knowledge, Faith and Redemption 1155.7 The Ghost of the Tractatus 123References 1266 Honest Doubt: Quasi-Fideism and Epistemic Vertigo 129Duncan Pritchard6.1 Introductory Remarks 1296.2 Honest Doubt 1306.3 Quasi-Fideism 1326.4 Epistemic Vertigo 1356.5 Honest Doubt Revisited 1386.6 Concluding Remarks 140References 141Part III Anthropological and Ethnological Approaches 1457 Wittgenstein on Religion as a Form of Life: From a ‘Jamesian Type’ to Remarks on Frazer 147Mauro L. Engelmann and Juliet Floyd7.1 Introduction 1477.2 A ‘Jamesian Type’ 1487.3 James’s Argument Against ‘Medical Materialism’ 1547.4 Tolstoy, James and Wittgenstein 1567.5 Wittgenstein on the Varieties of Religion in 1925 1577.6 Jamesianism Extended 161References 1688 Understanding Other Cultures, Understanding (Other) Religion 172Alois Pichler8.1 Non-participatory Interpretation: Philosophical Investigations § 206 1728.2 Participatory Understanding: Wittgenstein and Malinowski 1788.3 Understanding Religion and Limitations to It 184References 1899 Shall We Dance? A Non-Intellectualist Approach to Human Practices 192Julia Tanney9.1 The Marett Lecture 1929.2 Ryle on Theory Construction 1949.3 The Regress Threatening Intellectualism 1979.4 A Problem with a Restriction to the Knowledge of Truths 2019.5 The Dance 204References 206Part IV Context over Scientism 20910 Wittgenstein on Religion 211Paul Horwich10.1 Agenda 21110.2 Central Themes in the Mature Wittgenstein 21110.3 Wittgenstein’s View of Religious Belief 21310.4 Meaning and Belief 21710.5 Does Wittgenstein’s View of Religion Accord with His Own General Meta-Philosophy? 21910.6 Wittgenstein’s Religiosity 22110.7 Postscript 225Acknowledgements 226References 22711 The Concept of Belief in Comparative Religious Perspective 228Thomas D. Carroll11.1 Introduction 22811.2 Some Themes in Wittgenstein’s Views on Religious Beliefs and Practices 22911.3 The Concept of Belief Within Comparative Philosophy of Religion 23411.4 Clayton’s Contexts of Contestability 23811.5 Conclusion: Varieties of Religious Beliefs, Wittgenstein and Epistemology 241References 24312 On Certainty and Religion: A Prolegomenon 245Nuno Venturinha12.1 The Text 24512.1.1 Manuscripts 24712.1.2 Perspectives 25512.2 The Context 25912.3 The Moral of the Story 26912.4 Postscript 270References 271Part V Evidentialism and Non-Evidentialism off the Fence 27713 Evidentialist Epistemology and Freedom of Religion: Locke and Wittgenstein 279Gorazd Andrejč13.1 Introduction 27913.2 Locke’s Religious Evidentialism 28113.3 Lockean Evidentialism and Religious Tolerance 28313.4 Wittgenstein’s Anti-evidentialism 28613.5 Wittgensteinian Anti-evidentialism and Religious Disagreements 289ftoc.indd 8 22-12-2025 22:44:4013.6 Concluding Discussion 292References 298Works by Locke 29914 Wittgenstein and the ABCs of Religious Epistemics 300Guy Axtell14.1 Improving Dialogue Across Disciplines: Two Proposals 30014.2 Religious Epistemics and the Significance of Aetiological Challenges 30814.3 Checks and Balances: The Three Corners of the Triangle 30914.3.1 The Three Corners: Initial Descriptions 31114.3.2 Checks: A Temperance Movement 31214.3.3 Balances: Shared Issues in the Scholarly Study of Religious Belief/Unbelief 31414.3.3.1 Theology and the B/C Relationship 31414.3.3.2 Cognitive Science and the A/B Relationship 31714.3.3.3 Philosophy and the A–C Relationship 31914.4 Wittgenstein and Philosophical Investigations of Religious Belief 32214.5 Conclusion: Affirming Philosophy of Religion as Multidisciplinary Research 326Acknowledgements 326References 326Index 329