The Wretchedness of Belief

Bibliographic Data

ID14760141
AuthorsBob Plant (corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume32
Issue3
Pages449-476
Publication date2004-12-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-9795.2004.00174.x
OpenAlexW1968623681
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited16

In Culture and Value Wittgenstein remarks that the truly “religious man” thinks himself to be, not merely “imperfect” or “ill,” but wholly “ wretched .” While such sentiments are of obvious biographical interest, in this paper I show why they are also worthy of serious philosophical attention. Although the influence of Wittgenstein's thinking on the philosophy of religion is often judged negatively (as, for example, leading to quietist and/or fideist‐relativist conclusions) I argue that the distinctly ethical conception of religion (specifically Christianity) that Wittgenstein presents should lead us to a quite different assessment. In particular, his preoccupation with the categorical nature of religion suggests a conception of “genuine” religious belief which disrupts both the economics of eschatological‐salvationist hope, and the traditional ethical precept that “ought implies can.” In short, what Wittgenstein presents is a sketch of a religion without recompense

Christianity · Epistemology · Imperfect · Philosophy of religion · Precept · Relativism · Religious belief · Sketch · Theology · Value (mathematics · Philosophy · Religion, Theology, and Education · Religious Education and Schools · Religious studies · Wittgensteinian philosophy and applications · Religious Studies

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