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Single Idea 4151

[filed under theme 29. Religion / D. Religious Issues / 1. Religious Commitment / b. Religious Meaning ]

Full Idea

Grammar tells what kind of object anything is. (Theology as grammar)

Gist of Idea

Grammar tells what kind of object anything is - and theology is a kind of grammar

Source

Ludwig Wittgenstein (Philosophical Investigations [1952], §373)

Book Ref

Wittgenstein,Ludwig: 'Philosophical Investigations', ed/tr. Anscombe,E. [Blackwell 1972], p.116

A Reaction

A classic twentieth century blunder, originating in Frege and culminating in Quine, of thinking that the analysis of language is the last word in ontology.

The 4 ideas with the same theme [whether religious language lacks real meaning]:

4151 Grammar tells what kind of object anything is - and theology is a kind of grammar [Wittgenstein]
1468 If meaning is use, then religious sentences have meaning because they are used to assert an intention about how to live [Braithwaite, by PG]
1466 Claims about God don't seem to claim or deny anything tangible, so evidence is irrelevant [Flew, by PG]
20697 One does not need a full understanding of God in order to speak of God [Davies,B]