“For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements
The article engages in a critique of Wittgensteinian non-cognitivism about Christian belief statements but argues that Wittgenstein himself can only partially be classified under the non-cognitivist label. The article has three parts. First, it argues, contrary to a common view in the literature, th...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| author | Alois Pichler |
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| description | The article engages in a critique of Wittgensteinian non-cognitivism about Christian belief statements but argues that Wittgenstein himself can only partially be classified under the non-cognitivist label. The article has three parts. First, it argues, contrary to a common view in the literature, that Wittgenstein moved not only from strong non-cognitivism to moderate non-cognitivism but also from general non-cognitivism towards partial cognitivism about Christian belief statements. Second, it examines three separate non-cognitivist Wittgensteinian claims about Christian belief statements and argues that these claims are untenable not only from a broad perspective, but also from the point of view of Wittgenstein’s <i>Philosophical Investigations</i>. The three claims are: (1) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is superstition only”, (2) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is parasitic on religious attitude only”, and (3) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is cognitive in surface grammar only”. Third, the article considers the case of believing Christian martyrs and follows the view that their religious belief might be cognitive only at the surface grammar level, through to its ultimate consequences. The article argues, using Wittgenstein’s <i>Philosophical Investigations</i>, that the non-cognitivist position ends up with a cognitive point about the correctness or incorrectness of the Christian martyr’s depth grammar. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a80e08cc2ba4bcd9e8d7a3838db1279 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a80e08cc2ba4bcd9e8d7a3838db12792025-08-20T03:43:40ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-02-0116330610.3390/rel16030306“For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief StatementsAlois Pichler0Department of Philosophy, University of Bergen, 5007 Bergen, NorwayThe article engages in a critique of Wittgensteinian non-cognitivism about Christian belief statements but argues that Wittgenstein himself can only partially be classified under the non-cognitivist label. The article has three parts. First, it argues, contrary to a common view in the literature, that Wittgenstein moved not only from strong non-cognitivism to moderate non-cognitivism but also from general non-cognitivism towards partial cognitivism about Christian belief statements. Second, it examines three separate non-cognitivist Wittgensteinian claims about Christian belief statements and argues that these claims are untenable not only from a broad perspective, but also from the point of view of Wittgenstein’s <i>Philosophical Investigations</i>. The three claims are: (1) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is superstition only”, (2) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is parasitic on religious attitude only”, and (3) “The cognitive aspect of Christian belief statements is cognitive in surface grammar only”. Third, the article considers the case of believing Christian martyrs and follows the view that their religious belief might be cognitive only at the surface grammar level, through to its ultimate consequences. The article argues, using Wittgenstein’s <i>Philosophical Investigations</i>, that the non-cognitivist position ends up with a cognitive point about the correctness or incorrectness of the Christian martyr’s depth grammar.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/3/306WittgensteinJ.H. NewmanBibleChristian beliefcognitivismnon-cognitivism |
| spellingShingle | Alois Pichler “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements Religions Wittgenstein J.H. Newman Bible Christian belief cognitivism non-cognitivism |
| title | “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements |
| title_full | “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements |
| title_fullStr | “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements |
| title_full_unstemmed | “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements |
| title_short | “For If There Is No Resurrection of the Dead, Then Christ Has Not Been Raised Either”: Wittgenstein and the Cognitive Status of Christian Belief Statements |
| title_sort | for if there is no resurrection of the dead then christ has not been raised either wittgenstein and the cognitive status of christian belief statements |
| topic | Wittgenstein J.H. Newman Bible Christian belief cognitivism non-cognitivism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/3/306 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aloispichler forifthereisnoresurrectionofthedeadthenchristhasnotbeenraisedeitherwittgensteinandthecognitivestatusofchristianbeliefstatements |