Theology After Wittgenstein

Theology, unlike the social sciences, has not absorbed Wittgenstein's seminal discussions of language, even though they focus on questions that are obviously important for theological issues - such as the inner life, public and private religious experience, the immortality of the soul, revelation and the relation of the individual believer to the Church and tradition. Fergus Kerr contends that a close reading of Wittgenstein's later work is one good way of confronting the Cartesian and empiricist assumptions that characterize current approaches to theology. He draws out the themes and implications of Wittgenstein's texts and shows how various central theological debates could look "after Wittgenstein". This work is aimed at students of theology and modern philosophy.