Wittgenstein
Critically assess Wittgenstein’s belief that language games allow religious statements to have meaning. [35 marks]
The term “religious language” refers to statements or claims made about God or gods, the debate over the meaning of religious language is one that is very controversial. One philosopher to join this debate and present a theory on religious language was Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein is considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century; Wittgenstein played a central and controversial role in 20th-century philosophy. Although Wittgenstein’s theory of language games allows religious statements to have meaning, it has been widely criticised by philosophers such as..... Other theories such as the Verificationism label religious statements as meaningless.
In his work, Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein regularly referred to the concept of language games. Wittgenstein rejected the idea that language has a direct connection to reality and argued that concepts do not need to be so clearly defined to be meaningful. Wittgenstein used the term "language-game" to designate forms of language simpler than the entirety of a language itself, what is meant by this is that language only has meaning when used in the correct context or circumstance. Language has meaning to some people and not others, for this language to have meaning to you; you must be a part of the community in which the language is being used in the correct context. So, religious language only has meaning to religious people and religious communities. The analogy between a language and a game brings out the fact that only in the various and multiform activities of human life do words have meaning. For certain language to have meaning it must be used in the context of a certain game. Wittgenstein said that language has a meaning for the people in those particular language games (or contexts of use). The ‘game’ concept is not meant to suggest that there is anything
The term “religious language” refers to statements or claims made about God or gods, the debate over the meaning of religious language is one that is very controversial. One philosopher to join this debate and present a theory on religious language was Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein is considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the 20th century; Wittgenstein played a central and controversial role in 20th-century philosophy. Although Wittgenstein’s theory of language games allows religious statements to have meaning, it has been widely criticised by philosophers such as..... Other theories such as the Verificationism label religious statements as meaningless.
In his work, Philosophical Investigations, Ludwig Wittgenstein regularly referred to the concept of language games. Wittgenstein rejected the idea that language has a direct connection to reality and argued that concepts do not need to be so clearly defined to be meaningful. Wittgenstein used the term "language-game" to designate forms of language simpler than the entirety of a language itself, what is meant by this is that language only has meaning when used in the correct context or circumstance. Language has meaning to some people and not others, for this language to have meaning to you; you must be a part of the community in which the language is being used in the correct context. So, religious language only has meaning to religious people and religious communities. The analogy between a language and a game brings out the fact that only in the various and multiform activities of human life do words have meaning. For certain language to have meaning it must be used in the context of a certain game. Wittgenstein said that language has a meaning for the people in those particular language games (or contexts of use). The ‘game’ concept is not meant to suggest that there is anything