{"product_id":"wittgenstein-and-the-epistemology-of-religion-hardback-9781394360802","title":"Wittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion (Hardback) 9781394360802","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eWittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDuncan Pritchard (Edited by), Nuno Venturinha (Edited by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781394360802, Wiley\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 4 February 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e368 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.6 x 15.8 x 2.5 cm, 0.703 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIlluminates Wittgenstein’s religious epistemology—bridging faith, reason, and cultural understanding across disciplines\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e 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.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStructured in five parts, \u003ci\u003eWittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCombining historical sensitivity, conceptual rigor, and contemporary application, this landmark collection\u003ci\u003e:\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eSystematically explores Wittgenstein’s religious epistemology across multiple thematic dimensions\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eChallenges scientistic frameworks by emphasizing context and meaning in religious discourse\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eHighlights the relevance of Wittgenstein’s thought for contemporary debates on faith, reason, and evidence\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eIntroduces the concept of quasi-fideism as a nuanced position between full rationalism and fideism\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExpands Wittgenstein’s philosophical reach by applying anthropological and ethnological perspectives to religious belief\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eAddresses current teaching and research needs in epistemology and the philosophy of religion\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eEncouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue between disciplines, \u003ci\u003eWittgenstein and the Epistemology of Religion \u003c\/i\u003eis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements x\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes on Contributors xi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Abbreviations of Wittgenstein’s Works\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Figures xviii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIntroduction: Removing Misconceptions 1\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eNuno Venturinha and Duncan Pritchard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 11\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart I Beyond Cognitivism and Non-Cognitivism 15\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Wittgenstein on Religious Faith and Beauty 17\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eHanne Appelqvist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.1 Introduction 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.2 ‘God does not reveal himself in the world’ 20\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.3 ‘He is seeing his life as God’s work of art’ 25\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.4 ‘I spoke in the first person’ 31\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.5 Epilogue 37\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 38\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 No Gaseous Vertebrates: Wittgenstein’s ‘Third Way’ 41\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGenia Schönbaumsfeld\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.1 Introduction 41\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.2 Wittgenstein’s Conception of Religious Belief 42\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.3 Implications for the Meaning of Religious Language 48\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.4 Some More Objections 53\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.5 Conclusion 56\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart II From Fideism to Quasi-Fideism 59\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 Was Wittgenstein a Fideist? 61\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGordon Graham\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.1 Fideism 63\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.2 The Lecture on Ethics 66\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.3 Culture and Value 69\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 72\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4 ‘Undermining Reason’: Logic, Exemplarity and Religious Belief 73\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eEdward Guetti\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.1 Introduction 73\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.2 The Logical Mechanics of the 1938 Position 78\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.3 Winch’s Suggestion and the Tractatus 88\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.4 Conclusion 91\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 93\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e5 The Ghost of the Tractatus: Fideism, Scepticism and ‘Hinge’ Epistemology 95\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eMichael Williams\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1 Introduction 95\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.2 Religion Without Epistemology? 96\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.3 From Hinge Epistemology to Quasi-Fideism 100\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.4 Hinges as Knowledge 104\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.5 The Limits of Doubt 108\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6 Knowledge, Faith and Redemption 115\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.7 The Ghost of the Tractatus 123\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 126\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6 Honest Doubt: Quasi-Fideism and Epistemic Vertigo 129\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDuncan Pritchard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.1 Introductory Remarks 129\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.2 Honest Doubt 130\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3 Quasi-Fideism 132\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.4 Epistemic Vertigo 135\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.5 Honest Doubt Revisited 138\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.6 Concluding Remarks 140\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 141\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart III Anthropological and Ethnological Approaches 145\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e7 Wittgenstein on Religion as a Form of Life: From a ‘Jamesian Type’ to Remarks on Frazer 147\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eMauro L. Engelmann and Juliet Floyd\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.1 Introduction 147\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.2 A ‘Jamesian Type’ 148\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.3 James’s Argument Against ‘Medical Materialism’ 154\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.4 Tolstoy, James and Wittgenstein 156\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.5 Wittgenstein on the Varieties of Religion in 1925 157\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.6 Jamesianism Extended 161\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 168\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e8 Understanding Other Cultures, Understanding (Other) Religion 172\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlois Pichler\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.1 Non-participatory Interpretation: Philosophical Investigations § 206 172\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.2 Participatory Understanding: Wittgenstein and Malinowski 178\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.3 Understanding Religion and Limitations to It 184\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 189\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e9 Shall We Dance? A Non-Intellectualist Approach to Human Practices 192\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eJulia Tanney\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.1 The Marett Lecture 192\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.2 Ryle on Theory Construction 194\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3 The Regress Threatening Intellectualism 197\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.4 A Problem with a Restriction to the Knowledge of Truths 201\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.5 The Dance 204\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 206\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart IV Context over Scientism 209\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e10 Wittgenstein on Religion 211\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003ePaul Horwich\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.1 Agenda 211\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.2 Central Themes in the Mature Wittgenstein 211\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.3 Wittgenstein’s View of Religious Belief 213\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.4 Meaning and Belief 217\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.5 Does Wittgenstein’s View of Religion Accord with His Own General Meta-Philosophy? 219\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.6 Wittgenstein’s Religiosity 221\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.7 Postscript 225\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements 226\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 227\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e11 The Concept of Belief in Comparative Religious Perspective 228\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eThomas D. Carroll\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.1 Introduction 228\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.2 Some Themes in Wittgenstein’s Views on Religious Beliefs and Practices 229\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.3 The Concept of Belief Within Comparative Philosophy of Religion 234\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.4 Clayton’s Contexts of Contestability 238\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.5 Conclusion: Varieties of Religious Beliefs, Wittgenstein and Epistemology 241\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 243\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e12 On Certainty and Religion: A Prolegomenon 245\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eNuno Venturinha\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1 The Text 245\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1.1 Manuscripts 247\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.1.2 Perspectives 255\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.2 The Context 259\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.3 The Moral of the Story 269\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.4 Postscript 270\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 271\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart V Evidentialism and Non-Evidentialism off the Fence 277\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e13 Evidentialist Epistemology and Freedom of Religion: Locke and Wittgenstein 279\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGorazd Andrejč\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.1 Introduction 279\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.2 Locke’s Religious Evidentialism 281\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.3 Lockean Evidentialism and Religious Tolerance 283\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.4 Wittgenstein’s Anti-evidentialism 286\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.5 Wittgensteinian Anti-evidentialism and Religious Disagreements 289\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eftoc.indd 8 22-12-2025 22:44:40\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.6 Concluding Discussion 292\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 298\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorks by Locke 299\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e14 Wittgenstein and the ABCs of Religious Epistemics 300\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuy Axtell\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.1 Improving Dialogue Across Disciplines: Two Proposals 300\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.2 Religious Epistemics and the Significance of Aetiological Challenges 308\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3 Checks and Balances: The Three Corners of the Triangle 309\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.1 The Three Corners: Initial Descriptions 311\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.2 Checks: A Temperance Movement 312\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.3 Balances: Shared Issues in the Scholarly Study of Religious Belief\/Unbelief 314\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.3.1 Theology and the B\/C Relationship 314\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.3.2 Cognitive Science and the A\/B Relationship 317\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3.3.3 Philosophy and the A–C Relationship 319\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.4 Wittgenstein and Philosophical Investigations of Religious Belief 322\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.5 Conclusion: Affirming Philosophy of Religion as Multidisciplinary Research 326\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgements 326\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eReferences 326\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 329\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Philosophy [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Philosophy\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Philosophy%20%5BHP%5D%22\"\u003eHP\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52433824481560,"sku":"9781394360802","price":74.38,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781394360802.jpg?v=1784854221","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/wittgenstein-and-the-epistemology-of-religion-hardback-9781394360802","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}