THE ISSUE OF PERIODIZATION IN WITTGENSTEIN'S PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

A great number of academic papers dealing with Ludwig Wittgenstein's (1889-1951) philosophy of religion have been published. Analytical philosophers and philosophers of history have focused on this topic since the 1960's. This article, therefore, will not attempt to add to the multitude of such studies. A study which would map out Wittgenstein's philosophy of religion would not evidently constitute an addition to the worldwide or even Central European academic space. Instead, this article will focus on the periodization of Wittgenstein's philosophy of religion. It will attempt to answer the question: to what extent do the periods that will be dealt with throughout the course of this article correlate to the general periodization of Wittgenstein's philosophy. As Schilbrack notes, Wittgenstein's philosophy of religion also bears a connection to his philosophy of mathematics. This article will also try to show that in these changes from the, 'Tractatus' to the 'Philosophical Investigations' in the latter, Wittgenstein ultimately shows a commitment to a philosophical value of openness and willingness to transform one's mind by the discovery of what is given.