Abstract
This paper is concerned with the centrality of aspect seeing in Wittgenstein's philosophy, with some analogies between religious beliefs and aspect seeing, and with the implications of these analogies for the question of the justification of religious beliefs. If belief in God is neither a hypothesis nor a regular perceptual belief but rather a type of aspect seeing, then the kinds of proofs and justifications that are applicable to it would have to engage the non-believer in a manner that would help her experience the dawning of a new aspect. This is why the standard philosophical proofs for theism, even when accepted as valid, are likely to be unsuccessful in bringing about faith.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-23 |
| Number of pages | 23 |
| Journal | Religious Studies |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2000 |
| Externally published | Yes |