Wittgenstein

Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 1.10.2

Wittgenstein's Theory on Language Games

Throughout his life, Wittgenstein was heavily involved in the study of language, how it changes over time, its usage and how we understand it.

Wittgenstein advocated that we should not talk about what we cannot understand, famously saying: “whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.”
In short, while we may not be able to sense or conceptualise some things, they may still have truth or reality. But to conjecture on such points is ultimately meaningless.

Wittgenstein suggested that the meaning of words is determined by the language game that the words are part of (so the meaning of a word would depend on the scenario it was used in).
For Wittgenstein, words perform a function in a language; they do not signify an object.

For Wittgenstein, the use of language was like partaking in a game. To use a word, you have to first understand how it works.
Wittgenstein’s classic example was the game of chess. You might be told that a piece is called a 'king', but without understanding the rules of chess, you could never use the piece.
He also stated that to argue about how language is used is meaningless. If you want to play the game, you must accept the rules. You cannot play chess if your opponent is trying to play checkers.

Wittgenstein suggested that language, and therefore the rules of that language, can be seen from two sides:
Those who are inside the game and therefore know the rules.
Those who are outside the game and therefore do not know the rules.

Wittgenstein’s main point is that the meaning of a statement is not to be understood by the steps you would take to verify or falsify it, but by the context in which it is used.
Wittgenstein believes that there are different contexts in which language is used. These he calls language games.
Religion is one and science, for example, is another.