RL: WITTGENSTEIN Flashcards
What is Wittgenstein’s best-known saying?
‘Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.’
What did he hope to show?
The scope and limitations of philosophy and of human reason.
How did he explore context?
He explored the idea of language usage in different contexts, showing how groups of people, when they are all engaged in the same activity.
What was Wittgenstein’s study called?
The language games concept.
Why was talking about religious language as a game?
Useful as a way of highlighting and explaining the scope and limitations of language.
What do we accept about words?
That words are used in certain ways because we recognise the role they have in the whole game.
What does Wittgenstein use as an example?
A chess piece.
What did Phillips state about religious language?
RL is just a way of defining the rules of the game of religion.
What did Philips argue about religious statements?
He argued that ‘God is love’ is not a description of an actual existent being, but a way of showing how the word ‘God’ is to be used.
Who is religious language meaningful to?
For those who genuinely use it, and it does not need to be justified to those who do not participate in that particular language game.
What did Wittgenstein state about fact and game?
Not necessarily fact.
What may the language games concept completely cut off?
The subject of religion for discussion.
What does the language games concept rely on?
An understanding that there is no hope of people from different cultures being able to communicate effectively.
What issue does the language games concept cause?
It contradicts statements made by religious believers.
