| Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion 1999 Edition Contributor(s): Clack, Brian R. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0312216424 ISBN-13: 9780312216429 Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan OUR PRICE: $104.49 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: January 1999 Annotation: In the first full-length analysis of Wittgenstein's "Remarks on Frazer's Golden Bough," Brian R. Clack presents a fresh and innovative interpretation of Wittgenstein's conception of religion. While previous commentators have tended to sideline the "Remarks on Frazer," Clack shows how the key to Wittgenstein's thought on religion lies in these remarks on primitive magico-religious observances. This book shows that Wittgenstein neither embraces expressivism, as it is generally assumed, nor straightforwardly denies instrumentalism. Focusing instead on Wittgenstein's suggestion that magic is somehow akin to metaphysics, a view of ritual as the spontaneous expression of human beings (conceived as "ceremonial animals") is presented. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Philosophy - Philosophy | Religious - Biography & Autobiography | Religious |
| Dewey: 200.92 |
| LCCN: 98021471 |
| Physical Information: 0.84" H x 5.75" W x 8.84" (0.80 lbs) 200 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 20th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. |