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SCM Press Wittgensteinian Fideism? by Kai Nelson, D. Z. Phillips
This is an extended discussion of this timeless argument of faith and reason. In 1965 D Z Phillips published The Concept of Prayer, one of his first books, and the first time that the influence of Wittgenstein's thought in the philosophy of religion was truly exposed. Two years later, in 1967, Kai Nielsen published his famous article "Wittgensteinian Fideism" in the journal Philosophy. Their respective philosophical work has developed over the years, with Phillips becoming known as the leading proponent of Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion, (Wittgenstein's philosophy was that language had only limited meaning unless one understood the rules of the game in order to decipher the structure underlying language. D Z Phillips relates this to theology and religious faith.) and with Nielsen returning to renew his investigation of what he believes is the fideistic implications of this mode of philosophizing. (Nielsen's point being that by applying such reason to religious faith, one does away with the relevance of the faith. If God can be proven, why bother with a faith?) For Phillips the term "Wittgensteinian Fideism" (the belief that faith and reason are separate and faith can only be achieved by the denial of certain rational truths) does more harm than good, since for him it misrepresents and deflects us from the main logical issues concerning language and reality in Wittgenstein's work. For Nielsen, Wittgensteinian Fideism constitutes the most powerful contemporary challenge to secular naturalism. Wherever readers stand in the dispute, there is much to learn from the exchanges within it._x000D_ Table of contents :- _x000D_
Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction: Wittgensteinian Fideism 1968-1989 - An Appreciation Bela Szabados; Part One Wittgensteinian Fideism? 1967-1989; Chapter 1 Wittgensteinian Fideism - Kai Nielsen; Chapter 2 Wittgenstein and Religion: Fashionable Criticisms - DZ Philips; Chapter 3 D Z Phillips on the Foolishness of Wittgenstieian Fideism - Kai Nielsen; Chapter 4 The Way We Were - DZ Phillips; Part Two Reflecting on Wittgensteinian Fideism; Chapter 5 Nielsen's Sceptical Strategies - D Z Phillips; Chapter 6 Wittgensteinian Fideism Revisited - Kai Nielsen; Chapter 7 Retrospective and Six Concerns in Logic - D Z Phillips; Part Three Religion and Understanding; Chapter 8 Can Anything be Beyond Human Understanding? Kai Nielsen; Chapter 9 Understand or Else - D Z Phillips; Chapter 10 On Anything Being Beyond Human Understanding Kai Nielsen; Chapter 11 On Human Understanding - Nancy Bauer; Chapter 12 The Grammar of "Beyond Understanding" - D Z Phillips; Part Four Wittgenstein and Religion; Chapter 13 Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinians on Religion Kai Nielsen; Chapter 14 Religion and Obstacles of the Will - D Z Phillips; Chapter 15 Avoiding Nonsense, Keeping Cool; Nielsen, Phillips and Philosophy in the first person Stephen Mulhall; Chapter 16 On Obstacles of the Will - Kai Nielsen; Chapter 17 Wittgenstein: Contemplation and Cultural Criticism - D Z Phillips_x000D_