Philosophy and Theology

Volume 5, Issue 4, Summer 1991

Special Issue on Wittgenstein

Charles W. Johnson
Pages 283-295

An Oath of Silence
Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Religion

Following a clarification of the nature of the “sightedness” and “blindness” which Wittgenstein associated with religious and mystical apprehenson, I argue that his account fails in both its visual and its religious senses. I close with an assessment of the extent to which descriptive language can be used to induce a religious perspective in someone who presently lacks it.