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Wittgenstein Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology, and Religious Belief

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This unique text contains a collection of Wittgenstein's lecture notes taken by his students Rush Rhees, James Taylor and Yorick Smithies. Their unique because of the informality of the delivery: reading these notes, one can almost imagine the philosopher seated in his flat at Cambridge, extemporaneously discussing the subjects of aesthetics, psychology and religious belief.

It has been said that these particular subjects were only superficially touched upon in Wittgenstein's main works, Tractatus and Philosophical Investigations, and because of the informality of the discussions, are therefore more accessible for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy.

Although the notes on aesthetics and religious belief are interesting, Wittgenstein's views on Freud, i.e., psychoanalysis and particularly dream language, symbology and their interpretation throws a new light on psychoanalysis, in terms of the on-going argument as to whether it can be classified a true "science". The key to psychoanalysis' power and longevity is the cleverness and charm of the various arguments it proposes. The idea that _any_ opposition to Freud is a form of "resistance" from the unconscious has persisted throughout its history. This notion, at least in the beginning of the movement, successfully thwarted any productive dialogue and criticism.

Overall, however, Wittgenstein claimed that analysis was likely to do harm, he writes,

"Because although one may discover in the course of it various things about oneself, one must have a very strong and keen and persistent criticism in order to recognize and see through the mythology that is offered or imposed on one. There is an inducement to say, `Yes, of course, it must be like that.' A powerful mythology" (P.52)

Reading these informal "notes" has given me a better understanding of Wittgenstein's process of thought and investigation into these subjects. This volume is quite small, though it is full of insight and useful for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy.

It's interesting how many negative votes were cast for J. Fry who stated that it's okay, but not great. We can all hero worship Wittgenstein, and of course religion and psychology are amazing, too, so this volume must be deep and illuminating, right? Not really. Wittgenstein was, arguably, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, but most Wittgenstein lovers refuse to listen to Wittgenstein's own self-deprecations regarding any application of his work to anything other than as therapy for a certain kind of analytic philosophical method. Wittgenstein, like any great intellectual, had some interesting things to say about religion and culture, but he was far from a philosopher of these things. He himself disavowed the comprehensive mystical pronouncements at the end of the youthful Tractatus, though he himself continued to demonstrate some sympathies with them, mainly about the limits of philosophy to speak well about religion.

These lectures do not provide any major self-standing statement that applies Wittgenstein to religion. The best of it is simply his bringing up statements like "I believe in Judgment Day" or "The universe was created [fill in some non scientific timeperiod]" and Wittgenstein honestly saying: I'm not sure I understand what that person is really stating. I may jump to the conclusion that they are making a wrong scientific statement, but they may in fact be stating something more akin to a statement of a grammatical quality relating to a religious way of life.

But to understand what Wittgenstein means by taking that approach, one really needs to read his philosophy and even then, there is a lot of debate what it means to connect his philosophy with religion in this way. Peter Geach, Fergus Kerr, DZ Phillips, and George Lindbeck all come up with very different conclusions when doing just this. Personally, I think Lindbeck and Phillips are on the right track.

This isn't like reading a lecture by Nietzsche on an issue, and in this sense this volume is very thin in more ways than one.

Personally, I find reading "On Certainty" along with "Culture and Value" as a more valuable way of getting Wittgenstein's thoughts on these matters.

This book contains lectures and discussions by Wittgenstein on topics that are not addressed in his major works: aesthetics and religious belief. The remarks were recorded by students and friends.

In his early work, the Tractatus, Wittgenstein said: Ethics and aesthetics are one. Both are "beyond" capture in a "meaningful proposition". His later philosophy has a surprising turn away from the earlier ideas.

Anyone doing aesthetics cannot ignore these remarks. Are poems important? Is laughter a concern of philosophy? The distinction betwen cause and reason is for W. at the root of a major misunderstanding in aesthetics.
W. was fascinated by St. Augustine, Cardinal Newman, George Fox, Luther. O.K. Bouwsma once remarked to me that W. had said to him that it was astounding that a man as intelligent as Cardinal Newman saw a miracle in the fact that Napoleon's troops weapons dropped from their hands in the attack on Russia.

Whatever sagacity I sought from Wittgenstein regarding religion was somewhat lacking. The conversation he has regarding religion really touches more on death than on theology. Not quite what I was looking for. The section on religion is a bit of a misnomer.