Wittgenstein: a Religious Point of View?: A Religious Man? 2. The Search for Explanation 3. The Essence of Language 4. Underlying Mechanisms 5. Failed Explanations 6. The Limit of Explanation 7. Four Analogies

Wittgenstein is primarily known for his work on philosophy of logic, language and mind, but he was a cult figure at Cambridge when he taught there in the first half of the 20th century. Part of this, I think, has to do with his eccentric but enduringly fascinating views on ethics and religion. In this book, the late Norman Malcolm, a protege of Wittgenstein's, examines a curioius remark Wittgenstein makes to his friend Maurice O'Drury--along the lines of 'seeing every problem from a religious point of view'. It's curious because W. was not religious in the traditional sense. Yet he was a deep thinker, passionate about his own attitude toward life. He was, in a sense, a grippingly spiritual man, and Malcolm's book is a worthwhile attempt to understand Wittgenstein's religious attitude toward life. I recommend it for those interested in Wittgenstein, religion or spirituality. I am not a religious man; but I cannot help seeing every problem from a religious point of vew.' - Ludwig Wittgenstein. Such were Wittgenstein's words to his friend Drury. This essay is the last work by the distinguished philosopher Norman Malcolm, before his death in the summer of 1990. Malcolm first draws together a large and illuminating collection of remarks made by Wittgenstein at various stages of his life and in many different contexts, which are expressive of his attitude to religion. He discusses both some of the ways in which Wittgenstein was drawn to religious ways of thinking and also speculates concerning the barriers which stayed him from full religious commitment. Malcolm connects these barriers with Wittgenstein's commitment to philopsophy. He discusses with great vigour what he takes to be the most important features of Wittgestein's philosophical work and the nature of and reasons for the changes which took place in his thinking between Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigations . He highlights those features that he takes to be most relevant to Wittgenstein's attitude to religion.; He proposes that Wittgenstein saw an analogy between religious thinking and his own thinking about philosophical questions and the book ends with an attempt to substantiate this and describe the nature of this 'analogy'. Malcolm's essay is followed by a critical discussion by Peter Winch, which raises questions about Malcolm's interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophy and also about his account of the relation between Wittgenstein's philosophy and attitude to religion Ludwig Wittgenstein once said to a friend, "I am not a religious man: but I cannot help seeing every problem from a religious point of view." This puzzling, but intriguing remark is the focus of Norman Malcolm's essay, which forms the centerpiece of this three-part work. Malcolm first draws together a large and illuminating collection of remarks made by Wittgenstein at various stages of his life and in many different contexts that express his attitude toward religion. He discusses some of the ways in which Wittgenstein was drawn to religious modes of thinking and speculates concerning the barriers which kept him from full religious commitment. With great vigor he discusses what be considers the most important features of Wittgenstein's philosophical work and the nature of and reasons for the changes which took place in his thinking between Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and Philosophical Investigation. He concludes by offering four analogies between Wittgenstein's philosophical methods and his religions attitudes generally. . Peter Winch, who opens the volume with an introduction that places Malcolm's essay in the context of his other writings, concludes with a substantial critique of the proposed analogies and suggests an alternative reading of the "spiritual" dimension in Wittgenstein's inquiries. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Preface......Page 8 List of abbreviations......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 14 A RELIGIOUS MAN?......Page 20 THE SEARCH FOR EXPLANATION......Page 37 THE ESSENCE OF LANGUAGE......Page 53 UNDERLYING MECHANISMS......Page 61 FAILED EXPLANATIONS......Page 71 THE LIMIT OF EXPLANATION......Page 87 FOUR ANALOGIES......Page 97 Bibliography......Page 106 DISCUSSION OF MALCOLM'S ESSAY Peter Winch......Page 108 Index......Page 150 Ludwig Wittgenstein once said: 'I am not a religious man, but I cannot help seeing every problem from a religious point of view.' This study, the last work of the distinguished philosopher Norman Malcolm, is a discussion of what Wittgenstein may have meant by this and its significance for philosophy. The book concludes with a critical discussion of Malcolm's essay by Peter Winch This is Malcolm's last work before his death. It draws together a wide collection of Wittgenstein's comments on religion. Peter Winch concludes with a critical essay on Malcolm's interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophy.