Abstract
Wittgenstein’s profound thought had rich implications regarding religious belief and religion. In his early philosophy, silence occupies a central place to articulate what is beyond the boundary of language. Silence overcomes the limits of human language. In Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, religious language and different religious languages are legitimized by the multiple uses of language. An evaluation of his linguistic philosophy and its application in religious belief reveals that despite the limitations of his philosophy, Wittgenstein has enriched the contemporary philosophy of religion. This paper discusses the meaningful talk about religion, religious speech acts and religious rituals with Wittgenstein’s later understanding of the religious domain. Though Wittgenstein was not a religious man, he saw things from a religious point of view. His insight on religious belief can be seen from different perspectives. From a pragmatic perspective, religious language is very much tied up with the form of life. It emerges from the everyday shared practices of the community of believers.
Highlights
An investigation into the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein makes it clear that he was not an acknowledged follower of any established religion
Words enjoy countless heterogeneous roles in the language-game. This legitimizes linguistic pluralism as well as religious pluralism. This later linguistic view applied to religion and religious belief can explain or give a sound basis for the reality of manifold religions existing in the world
Wittgenstein was serious about religion and religious beliefs and committed to do them “wordlessly.” Tractatus has a religious point of view which cannot be expressed in words
Summary
An investigation into the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein makes it clear that he was not an acknowledged follower of any established religion. A meaningful talk about religions and religious belief with propositional language, which pictures reality, is not possible at the early stage of his thinking. Wittgenstein is concerned about the variety of ways words are used in religious settings and the variety of roles that religious beliefs play in the life of people. This later linguistic view applied to religion and religious belief can explain or give a sound basis for the reality of manifold religions existing in the world.
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