RELG 344 - Religion and the Philosophy of Language

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
This course considers what it is we do when we use religious concepts. The course begins by reading the pragmatic philosopher of language JL Austin and the later work of Ludwig Wittgenstein to set up how we “do things with words.” We will continue with a group of philosophers and theologians who have been influenced by the 20th century’s linguistic turn, notably Iris Murdoch, Cora Diamond, and Stephen Mulhall. Finally, we will bring in cross-cultural comparisons by considering how a group of Buddhist and Daoist thinkers conceive of language and world, other minds and other lives.