Hum (Jan 2010)
(ir)RELIGIOUS WITTGENSTEIN
Abstract
This article stems from the need to shed a different light on the person and writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein, a renowned Austrian thinker, who many people see as one of the greatest contemporary philosophers. An image of Wittgenstein as the predecessor of the logical positivism and one of the founders of analytical philosophy is present in the scientific world. From this some draw an assumption that he thought of religion as senseless as many of these philosophers or refused to talk about it at all. In contrary to such a view, this article presents, with valid arguments, a viewfrom which it is clearly visible that his whole life was driven by a religious impulse, which determined its most part and set its direction. Although he was a member of no religious confession, he looked at every problem from a religious point of view. This is presented through three thematic units of the article. The first will be dealing with the religious background of Wittgenstein’s life, the second will present the attitudes to religion and the third will consider viewpoints of some known philosophers on this issue.
