Evaluate Wittgenstein's LG - LG2

Question 1

INTRO - define

Answer 1

LG - non-cognitive approach to RL that religious language is only meaningful in the Language game ‘Lebensborn’ of religion

Question 2

Section one: theme

Answer 2

Wittgenstein

Question 3

Section one: AO1

LG

Answer 3

Language games gain meaning from its connection to social reality. A ‘Language game’ exists when multiple people communicate. ‘Game’ as each language game consists of rules – in each social situation a person will act a certain way as they have internalised and are following certain rules which govern their behaviour, including speech. Possible for people to communicate as they share an understanding of the criteria of that game. Religious people: Language games about faith, emotions, social conventions

Question 4

Section one: AO2 FOR

LG

Answer 4

Culpitt: Theological non realism – God is not something that exists but simply a reality in the language game of faith – concerned with the meaning of God only in peoples lives

God is love – more concerned with the experience and having faith in God’s love rather than the objective existence of a God to give love. Faith is a stance in life and God has no objective reality.
Anti-realist non-cognitive stance – faith is communal matter and faith should be used to describe this

Question 5

Section one: AO2 AGAINST

LG

Answer 5

Truth matters: In a religious community the word ‘God’ is not simply meaningful to only those in the community – non-cognitive approach means does not capture to those not participating in the language game what is meant by ‘God’

Question 6

Section 3: theme

Answer 6

Aquinas

Question 7

Section 3: AO1

AQUINAS

Answer 7

A range of ways of speaking about God and theological ideas using only terms that say what God is. Aquinas rejected both equivocal and univocal language and that talk about God can only be meaningful via analogy

Question 8

Section 3: AO2 FOR

AQUINAS

Answer 8

Analogy of attribution: Can help non-believers understand the partial truth behind religious language through the idea of casual relationships e.g. we call a bull’s urine healthy due to its good health is likewise to calling God good and infer that must mean humans are good as we all participate in God’s essence .
- Religious believer can grasp this

Analogy of proportion: God has qualities similar to ours but to a higher degree. For example human love is smaller in proportion to God’s omnibenevolence. Human faithfulness is in a higher proportion to a Dog’s faithfulness (Hick)
- Allows the theist to have a connection with God with a small understanding of Gods love in juxtaposition to ours

Maintenance of essential nature means able to take some of analogy of proportion meaningful

Question 9

Section 3: AO2 AGAINST

AQUINAS

Answer 9

Brummer: No different from the apophatic way as idea of God is still unclear. Indeed, all that Aquinas has stated is that “God is not wise in the same way that a person is wise,” which demonstrates how we are no closer to fathoming what God’s wisdom is.
- All still remain ignorant and Gods wisdom only really meaningful to the religious believer in the context of the LG

Analogy of proportion:
inaccurate and unclear as difficult to make sense of different magnitudes of a quality when thinking “upwards” (epistemic distance)
- Can lead to miscommunications and misunderstandings – fails communication with the non-believer.
- LG – Only makes sense (more of an explanation rather than trying to clarify Gods qualities)

Question 10

Section three: AO1

WITTGENSTEIN

Answer 10

Wittengenstein does not deny Gods existence but his Language Games approach denies that it is the philosophers task to determine this. Question of God’s existence is in the religious lebensform not the scientific one and recognises the religious language game may point to a reality outside this world

Question 11

Section three: AO2 AGAINST

WITTGENSTEIN

Answer 11

Many Christains may argue that there is value in talking about God using concepts from the scientific ‘Lebensborn’ i.e. probability and the laws of Causation (Aquinas 5 ways and probability of Gods existence and since has been developed by Swinburne’s cumulative probability)
-Language games removes religious language from the realm of scientific proofs and removes claims like ‘God exists’ which arguably Aquinas’ cognitivist approach maintains

Question 12

Section three: AO2 FOR

WITTGENSTEIN

Answer 12

Aquinas: Doctrine of casual participation means that the creator always transfers a part of themselves into their creations.
-Easier to use AofP… to philosophical qualities as analogy assumes some experience of the quality in the world to act as a grounding point i.e. intelligent designer from order and purpose
-Harder with theological qualities e.g. love – human experience so drastically different from any divine application
Use Wittgenstein approach when considering specific, theological properties as accepts that in religious lebensform ‘love’ is a symbol of communication rather than an accurate representation of these qualities