Discussion Points: Aquinas vs Wittgenstein
Religious Studies: OCR A Level, topic 1.10.6
Comparing Wittgenstein and Aquinas' Theories
Aquinas and Wittgenstein agree on God's unknowable nature and that religious language has to be understood in particular ways. They disagree about religious language as fact.
Wittgenstein: life commitment
- Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that religious language isn’t just the asserting of facts, but a commitment to a way of life.
- So it would seem that Wittgenstein's non-cognitive approach makes more sense than a cognitive approach. This is because much of the language used to describe the nature of God is metaphysical and beyond our realm of understanding.
Aquinas: factual statements
- In Aquinas' view, religious language puts forward factual statements about supernatural reality.
- This fits with most believers' understanding of what they are doing when they say God exists – they are asserting a fact.
- For example, when a religious person claims that God is omnipotent, they are aiming to say factually that God is all-powerful.
Test yourself on Discussion Points: Aquinas vs Wittgenstein
What did Aquinas and Wittgenstein agree about God?
What did Wittgenstein believe about religious language?