Religious beliefs religious attitudes Michael Lacewing enquiriesalevelphilosophy co
Religious beliefs, religious attitudes Michael Lacewing enquiries@alevelphilosophy. co. uk © Michael Lacewing
The religious ‘hypothesis’ • Is ‘God exists’ a hypothesis? • Empirical statements are capable of being false; the meaning of the statement is connected to this. – What circumstances or tests would lead us to atheism? • Not a hypothesis, but direct experience of God; cp. ‘This is a book’ – But the same test applies
Is the test correct? • A statement can be empirical without us knowing what experiences would show that it is false. • ‘God exists’ may help explain experience - it is tested not directly by experience by philosophical argument. • But philosophy is not what gives ‘God exists’ its meaning.
Does ‘God exist’ state a fact? • Not tested against empirical experience • Not purely intellectual • Theism not acquired by argument or evidence • Religious ‘belief’ is an attitude or commitment, towards life, others, history, morality… a way of living.
Objections • Different religions can prescribe similar ways of life while arguing for different beliefs about God – Orthodoxy (right belief) has been thought very important • What supports or justifies the attitude if not beliefs about how things are? • Perhaps religions distinguished by their stories – But stories don’t justify commitments • This approach makes religion too subjective
Wittgenstein on meaning • To understand language, we must understand how it is used. • Compare uses of language to ‘games’ - rules that allow or disallow certain moves/meanings • Surface grammar v. depth grammar – ‘The bus passes the bus stop’ v. ‘The peace of the Lord passes all understanding’ – Asking your boss for a raise v. asking God for prosperity • Language is part of life, a ‘form’ of life
Wittgenstein on religious belief • So religious language takes its meaning from religious life • Its surface grammar looks empirical, but its depth grammar is very different – God is not a ‘thing’ like any other – ‘a religious belief could only be something like a passionate commitment to a system of reference. Hence, although it’s a belief, it’s really a way of living, or a way of assessing life. It’s passionately seizing hold of this interpretation. ’ (Culture and Value, § 64)
Implications • The ‘Last Judgment’ is not a future event • Prayer is not asking to be given good things • Talk of ‘God’ only makes sense in the context of religious belief - God does not ‘exist’ independent of belief in God • Religious belief cannot be criticized by facts and ‘evidence’, although it must make sense as part of human life
Objection • This interpretation contradicts what most religious believers believe! • Suggestion: religious language is both factual and expressive
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