Date of Graduation

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Philosophy

Advisor/Mentor

Minar, Edward H.

Committee Member

Senor, Thomas D.

Second Committee Member

Funkhouser, Eric M.

Keywords

Religious language; Religious life; Kierkegaard; Wittgenstein

Abstract

The following project analyzes religious life through the lens of religious language. Motivated by ideas of Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinians, religious language is shown to be nonsensical, and yet significant. Wittgenstein connects how we understand language with how we understand life, and this connection extends to religious life. This project offers an answer to how religious language is unique by comparing religious language to riddles and the process of answering riddles. In addition, religious language becomes understandable with imagination, a relationship with the transcendent, and an understanding of the kinds of language present in religious discourse. These ideas are solidified with the study of Kierkegaard’s Abraham. Above all, grasping the religious form of life is necessary to understanding religious language.

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