Witgenstein Frazer and Religion

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.

BRIAN R. CLACK is Tutor in Philosophy at St. Clare's International College, Oxford. He received his PhD from London University in 1994, and is, with Beverly Clack, the author of An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (forthcoming).