Religion and understanding;

by D.Z. Phillips

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1967

About the author

Dewi Zephaniah Phillips, usually cited as D.Z. Phillips, is recognized for his work in the philosophy of religion and other philosophical disciplines. He was also a proponent of preserving the Welsh language.

Reviews

[Tylor Lovins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The essay by Winch "Understanding a Primitive Society" is worth buying and/or picking up this book to read in and of itself. His extension of his conversation on rule following in The Idea of a Social Science is a very useful follow-up to certain ambiguities about what creates the possibility of studying primitive societies. In light of Rorty, however, Winch seems to have certain 'metaphysical intuitions' that he may not be entitled to. Otherwise, the only essays of note to a Wittgensteinian are D. Z. Phillips's two essays on religious grammar and W. H. Poteat's essay "Birth, Suicide and the Doctrine of Creation: An Exploration of Analogies" is a great look at the grammar of the doctrine of creation ex nihilo. I think that essay is very important, in its examination of the concept of 'world' and its connection with the concept of 'I.' For those four essays, this book is great quality, although the others seem conceptually confused in at least a few ways.