Journal | JoLMA
Monographic journal issue | Special issue
Research Article | Answering Sraffa on Religion: Wittgenstein Walking the Tightrope
Answering Sraffa on Religion: Wittgenstein Walking the Tightrope
Abstract
The subject of religion, one might think, although discussed in the Tractatus, is conspicuously absent from or in Wittgenstein’s later works, particularly in the Philosophical Investigations. Using Sraffa’s comments as a starting point, I tentatively deal with the absence of the subject by considering the question whether Wittgenstein’s religious views are compatible with his philosophies in the Tractatus and in the Philosophical Investigations. Answering this question involves examining Wittgenstein’s own central concern about his convictions in his later years, namely, to what extent one can honestly be a religious thinker nowadays. Presumably, his philosophy might not allow a “philosophy of religion”, if his own views on religion are not compatible with his philosophy. I tackle these issues beginning with Wittgenstein’s conversations with Ludwig Hänsel, then move to his later views and relevant passages in the Philosophical Investigations. With this in place, I uncover a religious moment that is not completely apparent in his later book, namely, an admission of errors that is a sort of confession.
Submitted: Feb. 12, 2024 | Published Forthcoming | Language: en
Keywords Tolstoy • Religious Belief • • Religion • Confession • Hänsel • Sraffa • Wittgenstein
Copyright © 2024 Mauro Engelmann. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
