Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion

Download or read book Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion written by Brian R. Clack and published by Springer. This book was released on 1998-10-30 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.