Wittgenstein's religious thought is not well understood. And Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion is charged with fideism, religious non-realism, and even crypto-atheism. These charges, however, are borne of misunderstandings that are a result of the critics' being oblivious of apophatic theology. This book is intended to help clear some of those misunderstandings and neutralize the above-mentioned charges. It argues that Wittgenstein's religious thought shares kinship with the thought of apophaticists in Christendom such as the Pseudo-Dionysius and St. Thomas Aquinas. What appear to be fideism, non-realism, or crypto-atheism to the critics appear differently to those who see Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion from the apophaticists' point of view--Wittgenstein's religious point of view.

This book argues that Wittgenstein's religious thought is misunderstood by its critics, and that their misunderstandings are a result of being oblivious of apophatic theology--the theology that encapsulates Wittgenstein's religious point of view.

Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship of their ideas. Genia Sch?nbaumsfeld closes this gap and offers new readings of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's conceptions of philosophy and religious belief. Chapter one documents Kierkegaard's influence on Wittgenstein, while chapters two and three provide trenchant criticisms of two prominent attempts to compare the two thinkers, those by D. Z. Phillips and James Conant. In chapter four, Sch?nbaumsfeld develops Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's concerted criticisms of certain standard conceptions of religious belief, and defends their own positive conception against the common charges of 'irrationalism' and 'fideism'. As well as contributing to contemporary debate about how to read Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work, A Confusion of the Spheres addresses issues which not only concern scholars of Wittgenstein and Kierkegaard, but anyone interested in the philosophy of religion, or the ethical aspects of philosophical practice as such.

This volume argues that Wittgenstein’s philosophy of religion and his thought in general continue to be highly relevant for present and future research on interreligious relations.

The commonly held view that Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion is fideistic loses plausibility when contrasted with recent scholarship on Wittgenstein's corpus and biography. This book reevaluates the place of Wittgenstein in the philosophy of religion and charts a path forward for the subfield by advancing three themes.

The problem of speaking about God arises from the presumed notion that God is utterly transcendent and is “wholly other” from human existence. Moreover, a profound sense of mystery is held to surround God’s being. Even so, Not Beyond Language maintains that it is still possible for human beings to express and describe God in words—that language can bring genuine disclosure and understanding of the divine. However, given that religious language is problematic because inadequate, those who engage in speaking about God must accept that the words they use cannot be pressed to yield precise definitions or complete explanations of the divine. The author proposes a nuanced approach to the use of religious language which revolves more around meaning and relevance of the discourse about divine reality, than objective claims about who or what God is.

Ludwig Wittgenstein was the most influential, and arguably the greatest, philosopher of the twentieth century. This fact about his influence is not only a matter of how much he influenced people but also of how many people he influenced. His early work was taken up by some of the pioneers of analytical philosophy. His later work helped spawn another movement within analytic philosophy, that of ordinary language philosophy (sometimes called Oxford philosophy). He is also considered by some to be a key postmodern thinker, and an interest in his work is a distinguishing feature of many post-analytical philosophers who seek to bridge the gap between analytical and so-called continental philosophy. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy covers the history of this philosophy through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on every aspect of his work. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Wittgenstein’s philosophy.