wittgenstein n language games

who was wittgenstein?

• ludwig wittgenstein » born to a rich fam, Jewish parents

• ¾ brothers took their own lives

• 4th was WW1 famous pianist, even w lost arm

• attended sch w Hitler > they apparently did not get on

• has been suggested that Hitler’s dislike of Jews was sparked by his conflict with Wittgenstein

• spent the majority of his life lecturing Philosophy @ Cambridge

• firm believer that there are some things in life that are intelligible to us and others that are not and it is important to accept this

wittgenstein: the early years

• heavily involved in the study of language throughout his life ie changes over time, usage n how we understand it

• “whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.”

  • advocated that we should not talk about what we cannot understand

  • whilst we may not be able to sense or conceptualise some things, they may still have truth/reality

    • to conjecture on such points is ultimately meaningless

• originally set out to demo clearly what once could use language for n its limits

• over the course of his life, he realised he was mistaken in what he originally stated n instead proposed a new, revised theory » ‘Language Games’

wittgenstein n God:

• was not a religious believer, but respected religion

• argued that religious language could not be analysed via the narrow criteria of verificationists

• argued that religious language could not be spoken of or analysed in a scientific way

• similar stance to fideism: “the belief that religion does not have rational foundations and is therefore removed from criticism

• argued that religious language was a profound n important interpretation of human life

what is a language game?

• saw language in terms of a game

• to use language is to participate in a game where we know and accept the rules

a game of words:

• for witgg, the use of language was like partaking in a game:

  • to use a word, you first have to understand how it works

  • eg: if you don’t understand the rules of Chess, you could never use the piece that was called a ‘King’ correctly/effectively

• also stated that to argue how language is used is meaningless:

  • if you want to play the game, you must accept the rules

inside & outside the game:

• wittg suggested that language n therefore the rules of that language can be seen from 2 sides

  • those inside the game and know the rules vs outsides the games and don’t know the rules

D. Z. Philips:

• the philosopher dz philips takes the language game theory n applies it to religious language

  • statements such as “God is Love,” discussions of religious experience - are ppl who have experienced God playing their own unique game

• as such it’s argued that religious language is meaningful to those who genuinely use it

peter donovan:

if 2 Christians talk about Jesus, it might be said that their shared understanding of Jesus makes their conversation meaningful.

however, if a Jewish person n Christian person sit down to discuss Jesus, then their differing understandings of who Jesus was might render their convo meaningless. if you take statements out of their context in order to analyse them, you will create confusion n misunderstanding

advantages v disadvantages:

w