Phil HL - Religious Language - Language Games (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

Phil HL - Religious Language - Language Games (Ludwig Wittgenstein)

1. Wittgenstein

   • Picture Theory of Meaning
     • language is a way of representing facts, everything else is nonsense
     • failed to capture complexity of language
       • We need to be alive to the vagueness of words
   • The meaning of a word is it's use in language
     • for a meaning we should look for how it's used, there are many functions

2. Language games

   • different uses of language are activities that take place in different social contexts
     • governed by certain rules, vary from context to context
       • some rules we just have to accept
   • to use it you must understand how it works
     • you can be told the name of a chess piece but you can't play if you don't understand the rules
     • to understand it you must attempt to use it (to understand a train's controls you must drive the train)
   • different meanings depending on context
     • RESULT
       • to an athlete
       • to a student
       • to a scientist in a medical lab

3. Advantages

   • Highlights non-cognitive nature of language (many meanings)
   • introduces boundaries in language
   • people can be introduced to the rules of language in a religion
   • shows language can be true in one context but false in another

4. Disadvantages

   • doesn't allow for believers' claims to be empirically tested
   • religious language alienates those outside the game
   • you can't change the rules to allow outsiders in