Description
Book SynopsisCursory allusions to the relation between Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein are common in the philosophical literature, but there has been little in the way of serious and comprehensive commentary on the relationship of their ideas. Genia Schönbaumsfeld closes this gap and offers new readings of Kierkegaard''s and Wittgenstein''s conceptions of philosophy and religious belief. Chapter one documents Kierkegaard''s influence on Wittgenstein, while chapters two and three provide trenchant criticisms of two prominent attempts to compare the two thinkers, D. Z. Phillips and James Conant. In chapter four, Schönbaumsfeld develops Kierkegaard''s and Wittgenstein''s concerted criticisms of the ''spaceship view'' of religion and defends it against the common charges of ''fideism'' and ''irrationalism''. As well as contributing to contemporary debate about how to read Kierkegaard''s and Wittgenstein''s work, A Confusion of the Spheres addresses issues which not only concern scholars of Wittgenstein an
Trade ReviewA sharply argued contribution to the philosophical effort to understand religious language * John Whittaker, Review of Metaphysics *
Genia Schönbaumsfeld's book ... breaks novel ground in its comparison of Kierkegaard and Wittgenstein ... Schönbaumsfeld outlines an attractive interpretative position that gives us a way of making sense not only of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's work ... but of what it is to have a religious belief. ... it deserves to be taken seriously, and is highly recommended. * Jamie Turnbull, International Journal of Philosophical Studies *
Genia Schönbaumsfeld's impressive recent book ... offers a novel and fascinating way of understanding Wittgenstein's pivotal aims as a philosopher and the motives behind his work, particularly his 'therapeutic' method. * Jonathan Beale, Ratio *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; 1. Kierkegaard's Influence on Wittgenstein's Thought ; 2. The Point of Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's Philosophical Authorship ; 3. Sense and Ineffabilia - Kierkegaard and the Tractatus ; 4. A Confusion of the Spheres - Kierkegaard's and Wittgenstein's Conception of Religious Belief ; Conclusion ; Index
