|
|
Wittgenstein on Ethics and Religion
Vondrášek, Viktor ; Kolman, Vojtěch (advisor) ; Hill, James (referee)
This work presents an account of Wittgenstein's conception of ethics and religion. I argue that because of the influences of the First World War, Tolstoy's Gospel in Brief and James' Varieties of Religious Experience, Wittgenstein broadened the subject of his first philosophical treatise (Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus) from logic to philosophy. In this treatise, Wittgenstein famously described the ethical and religious discourse as lacking propositions that make sense. In contrast to the Vienna Circle, that took this statement to be a 'positive' expression declaring Wittgenstein's scientific outlook on the world, I argue that Wittgenstein wanted to point out the non-theoretical character of these disciplines. He did not think that ethics and religion can be an addition to the world of scientific knowledge, because of their unscientific character. On the other hand, they can do what science cannot. They can give meaning, value to a world in which no absolute value exists. This work claims that ethics and religion, according to Wittgenstein, have a practical character. They delimit the world and help to situate the subject in it.
|
guest ::
RSS feed.