Wittgenstein and Interreligious Disagreement: A Philosophical and Theological Perspective

by Gorazd Andrejc

Overview

 This book critically examines three distinct interpretations of Ludwig Wittgenstein, those of George Lindbeck, David Tracy, and David Burrell, while paying special attention to the topic of interreligious disagreement. In theological and philosophical work on interreligious communication, Ludwig Wittgenstein has been interpreted in very different, sometimes contradicting ways. This is partly due to the nature of Wittgenstein’s philosophical investigation, which does not consist of a theory nor does it posit theses about religion, but includes several, varying conceptions of religion. In this volume, Gorazd Andrejč illustrates how assorted uptakes of Wittgenstein’s conceptions of religion, and the differing theological perspectives of the authors who formulated them, shape interpretations of interreligious disagreement and dialogue. Inspired by selected perspectives from Tillichian philosophical theology, the book suggests a new way of engaging both descriptive and normative aspects of Wittgenstein’s conceptions of religion in the interpretation of interreligious disagreement.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137498236
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	08/04/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
File size:	568 KB

About the Author

 Gorazd Andrejč is Junior Research Fellow at The Woolf Institute, Cambridge, and Research Associate at St. Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, UK.     

Table of Contents

 Introduction.- 1. Wittgenstein on Religion: The Four Conceptions .- 2. George Lindbeck, Wittgenstein and Grammar of Interreligious Disagreement.- 3. Incommensurability and Interreligious Communication.- 4. David Tracy, Experience, and ‘Similarities-in-Difference’.- 5. A Wittgensteinian Approach to Interreligious Disagreements: Descriptive and Normative Investigations.- Bibliography.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A brilliant book not just for philosophers interested in Wittgenstein's philosophy of religion, but for everyone seeking solutions for interreligious disagreement. Inspired by Wittgenstein, the author opens up a path toward interreligious understanding that moves beyond postliberal or rationalist shortenings of religion. At the same time, Gorazd rediscovers Wittgenstein's philosophy for our time of religious disruption and relieves his philosophy of any relativistic domestication.” (Klaus von Stosch, Professor of Systematic Theology and Chairman of the Centre for Comparative Theology and Cultural Studies, University of Paderborn, Germany)

“In these troubled times of interreligious discord, and of virulent hostility from some quarters towards religious worldviews in general, Andrejč offers a perspective that is both level-headed and insightful. Drawing upon a deep understanding of Wittgenstein’s thought, engaging productively with the work of important modern theologians, and adducing poignant examples of interreligious disagreement, this book makes a profound contribution to theological and philosophical discussions of how to live and communicate with one another in a multireligious world.” (Mikel Burley, Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University of Leeds, UK)