Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion [Hardcover]

Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion expounds and analyses the argument of Wittgenstein's Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough . It details the reasons for Wittgenstein's rejection of the intellectualist theory of religion, and suggests a new interpretation of his rival view of ritual. Denying that Wittgenstein's account is straightforwardly expressivist, the author builds his own interpretation on Wittgenstein's claim that magic is akin to metaphysics. In the course of the book, the author considers such matters as expressivism, 'perspicuous representation', the nature of human sacrifice, and Wittgenstein's cultural pessimism.Preface Introduction Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion PART 1: EXPRESSIVISM Wittgenstein's 'Expressivism' The Possibility of Expressivism PART II: METHODOLOGY: DESCRIPTION AND EXPLANATION Perspicuous Representation The Prohibition on Explanation The Frontiers of the Remarks PART III: THE NATURAL HISTORY OF A CEREMONIAL ANIMAL 'Metaphysics as a Kind of Magic' Frazerian Reflections: On Beltane and Human Sacrifice 'The Collapse into the Inorganic' Notes Bibliography Index

Clack... succeeds both in capturing valuable strains of thought in Wittgenstein and in considering Wittgenstein's thought seriously and critically. Choice

BRIAN R. CLACK is Tutor in Philosophy at St. Clare's International College, Oxford. He received his PhD from London University in 1994, and is, with Beverly Clack, the author of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (forthcoming).