A Confusion of the Spheres: Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein on Philosophy and Religion

by Genia Schïnbaumsfeld

Overview

Cursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in the philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship of their ideas. Genia Schönbaumsfeld 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, Schönbaumsfeld develops Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's concerted criticisms of the "spaceship view" of religion and defends it against the common charges of "fideism" and "irrationalism".

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199229826
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/17/2007
Pages:	222
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Genia Schonbaumsfeld is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Southampton.

Table of Contents

Introduction1. Kierkegaard's Influence on Wittgenstein's Thought2. The Point of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's Philosophical Authorship3. Sense and Ineffabilia - Kierkegaard and the Tractatus4. A Confusion of the Spheres - Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's Conception of Religious BeliefConclusionIndex

Editorial Reviews

"A sharply argued contribution to the philosophical effort to understand religious language" — John Whittaker, Review of Metaphysics

"Genia Schönbaumsfeld's book ... breaks novel ground in its comparison of Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein ... Schönbaumsfeld outlines an attractive interpretative position that gives us a way of making sense not only of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work ... but of what it is to have a religious belief. ... it deserves to be taken seriously, and is highly recommended." — Jamie Turnbull, International Journal of Philosophical Studies

"Genia Schönbaumsfeld's impressive recent book ... offers a novel and fascinating way of understanding Wittgenstein's pivotal aims as a philosopher and the motives behind his work, particularly his 'therapeutic' method." — Jonathan Beale, Ratio

From the Publisher