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Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion
Duncan Pritchard (Edited by), Nuno Venturinha (Edited by)
9781394360802, Wiley
Hardback, published 4 February 2026
368 pages
22.6 x 15.8 x 2.5 cm, 0.703 kg
Illuminates Wittgenstein’s religious epistemology—bridging faith, reason, and cultural understanding across disciplines Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion offers the first comprehensive exploration of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy of religion through an explicitly epistemological lens. Fourteen newly commissioned essays from leading and emerging scholars examine how Wittgenstein’s later thought, especially his descriptive and grammatical methods, provides tools for understanding religious belief, practice, and diversity. This singular volume situates Wittgenstein within debates over cognitivism, non-cognitivism, and fideism, while also considering his subtle anthropological and ethnological insights into religion as a form of life. Structured in five parts, Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion traces key themes that range from the tension between faith and reason to the role of evidence in religious life. Contributors engage with seminal figures such as Locke, Kierkegaard, James, and Malinowski to illuminate how Wittgenstein challenges scientific reductionism and opens new ways of understanding the lived experience of belief. The essays reveal how questions of meaning, context, and practice underpin the epistemic evaluation of religious commitments, as well as how Wittgenstein’s approach helps clarify conflicts that lack a shared evidential framework. Combining historical sensitivity, conceptual rigor, and contemporary application, this landmark collection: Encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue between disciplines, Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion is essential reading for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in philosophy, religious studies, anthropology, and sociology. It serves as a core or supplemental text in upper-level undergraduate or graduate courses such as Philosophy of Religion, Religious Epistemology, Wittgenstein Studies, as well as courses examining belief formation, ritual, and the social dynamics of religion.
Acknowledgements x Notes on Contributors xi List of Abbreviations of Wittgenstein’s Works List of Figures xviii Introduction: Removing Misconceptions 1 References 11 Part I Beyond Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism 15 1 Wittgenstein on Religious Faith and Beauty 17 1.1 Introduction 17 1.2 ‘God does not reveal himself in the world’ 20 1.3 ‘He is seeing his life as God’s work of art’ 25 1.4 ‘I spoke in the first person’ 31 1.5 Epilogue 37 References 38 2 No Gaseous Vertebrates: Wittgenstein’s ‘Third Way’ 41 2.1 Introduction 41 2.2 Wittgenstein’s Conception of Religious Belief 42 2.3 Implications for the Meaning of Religious Language 48 2.4 Some More Objections 53 2.5 Conclusion 56 References 57 Part II From Fideism to Quasi-Fideism 59 3 Was Wittgenstein a Fideist? 61 3.1 Fideism 63 3.2 The Lecture on Ethics 66 3.3 Culture and Value 69 References 72 4 ‘Undermining Reason’: Logic, Exemplarity and Religious Belief 73 4.1 Introduction 73 4.2 The Logical Mechanics of the 1938 Position 78 4.3 Winch’s Suggestion and the Tractatus 88 4.4 Conclusion 91 References 93 5 The Ghost of the Tractatus: Fideism, Scepticism and ‘Hinge’ Epistemology 95 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 Religion Without Epistemology? 96 5.3 From Hinge Epistemology to Quasi-Fideism 100 5.4 Hinges as Knowledge 104 5.5 The Limits of Doubt 108 5.6 Knowledge, Faith and Redemption 115 5.7 The Ghost of the Tractatus 123 References 126 6 Honest Doubt: Quasi-Fideism and Epistemic Vertigo 129 6.1 Introductory Remarks 129 6.2 Honest Doubt 130 6.3 Quasi-Fideism 132 6.4 Epistemic Vertigo 135 6.5 Honest Doubt Revisited 138 6.6 Concluding Remarks 140 References 141 Part III Anthropological and Ethnological Approaches 145 7 Wittgenstein on Religion as a Form of Life: From a ‘Jamesian Type’ to Remarks on Frazer 147 7.1 Introduction 147 7.2 A ‘Jamesian Type’ 148 7.3 James’s Argument Against ‘Medical Materialism’ 154 7.4 Tolstoy, James and Wittgenstein 156 7.5 Wittgenstein on the Varieties of Religion in 1925 157 7.6 Jamesianism Extended 161 References 168 8 Understanding Other Cultures, Understanding (Other) Religion 172 8.1 Non-participatory Interpretation: Philosophical Investigations § 206 172 8.2 Participatory Understanding: Wittgenstein and Malinowski 178 8.3 Understanding Religion and Limitations to It 184 References 189 9 Shall We Dance? A Non-Intellectualist Approach to Human Practices 192 9.1 The Marett Lecture 192 9.2 Ryle on Theory Construction 194 9.3 The Regress Threatening Intellectualism 197 9.4 A Problem with a Restriction to the Knowledge of Truths 201 9.5 The Dance 204 References 206 Part IV Context over Scientism 209 10 Wittgenstein on Religion 211 10.1 Agenda 211 10.2 Central Themes in the Mature Wittgenstein 211 10.3 Wittgenstein’s View of Religious Belief 213 10.4 Meaning and Belief 217 10.5 Does Wittgenstein’s View of Religion Accord with His Own General Meta-Philosophy? 219 10.6 Wittgenstein’s Religiosity 221 10.7 Postscript 225 Acknowledgements 226 References 227 11 The Concept of Belief in Comparative Religious Perspective 228 11.1 Introduction 228 11.2 Some Themes in Wittgenstein’s Views on Religious Beliefs and Practices 229 11.3 The Concept of Belief Within Comparative Philosophy of Religion 234 11.4 Clayton’s Contexts of Contestability 238 11.5 Conclusion: Varieties of Religious Beliefs, Wittgenstein and Epistemology 241 References 243 12 On Certainty and Religion: A Prolegomenon 245 12.1 The Text 245 12.1.1 Manuscripts 247 12.1.2 Perspectives 255 12.2 The Context 259 12.3 The Moral of the Story 269 12.4 Postscript 270 References 271 Part V Evidentialism and Non-Evidentialism off the Fence 277 13 Evidentialist Epistemology and Freedom of Religion: Locke and Wittgenstein 279 13.1 Introduction 279 13.2 Locke’s Religious Evidentialism 281 13.3 Lockean Evidentialism and Religious Tolerance 283 13.4 Wittgenstein’s Anti-evidentialism 286 13.5 Wittgensteinian Anti-evidentialism and Religious Disagreements 289 ftoc.indd 8 22-12-2025 22:44:40 13.6 Concluding Discussion 292 References 298 Works by Locke 299 14 Wittgenstein and the ABCs of Religious Epistemics 300 14.1 Improving Dialogue Across Disciplines: Two Proposals 300 14.2 Religious Epistemics and the Significance of Aetiological Challenges 308 14.3 Checks and Balances: The Three Corners of the Triangle 309 14.3.1 The Three Corners: Initial Descriptions 311 14.3.2 Checks: A Temperance Movement 312 14.3.3 Balances: Shared Issues in the Scholarly Study of Religious Belief/Unbelief 314 14.3.3.1 Theology and the B/C Relationship 314 14.3.3.2 Cognitive Science and the A/B Relationship 317 14.3.3.3 Philosophy and the A–C Relationship 319 14.4 Wittgenstein and Philosophical Investigations of Religious Belief 322 14.5 Conclusion: Affirming Philosophy of Religion as Multidisciplinary Research 326 Acknowledgements 326 References 326 Index 329
Nuno Venturinha and Duncan Pritchard
Hanne Appelqvist
Genia Schönbaumsfeld
Gordon Graham
Edward Guetti
Michael Williams
Duncan Pritchard
Mauro L. Engelmann and Juliet Floyd
Alois Pichler
Julia Tanney
Paul Horwich
Thomas D. Carroll
Nuno Venturinha
Gorazd Andrejč
Guy Axtell
Subject Areas: Philosophy [HP]
