På väg mot det postsekulära: Tankar under femton år

The meaning of language has been one important focus of philosophy since the linguistic turn in the beginning of last century. Ludwig Wittgenstein (d. 1951) was one of the voices that influenced this development. One of his main points was that linguistic meaning can only be grasped by paying attention to the practical context where a language is used.  This book develops various implications of the fundamental ideas of Wittgenstein for our understanding of theology, secular life-views, literature, films etc.

The contextual approach that is presented in the book tries to catch the “depth grammar” of different phenomena. The author analyzes taken for granted conditions in different contexts. We thus become aware of ways of understanding reality and of values and attitudes that are not discernable on the surface. The Swedish theologian and philosopher of religion, Anders Nygren (d. 1978), spoke of “Self-Evident  Presuppositions”.  Nygren, who understood  himself to be closely aligned with Wittgenstein, has also inspired some of the text in this book. Governed by the concept of presuppositions the author finds it necessary to study larger cultural frameworks, expressed in terms like “modernity”, “late modernity”, “secularism”, “post secularity” etc.

In religious views and in theology the concept of religious beliefs is central. Building upon the idea of conditions taken for granted, the author points to a particular understanding of the concept of trust. People in general seem to presuppose that trust ought to be rationally justified. Throughout the text the author gives examples of cases where trust cannot be built upon reasons. Applied to trust in God, such examples question the quest for rational arguments for belief in God. The philosophical discourse tends to label such questioning “fideistic”. The author tries to show that the concept of “fideism” has no role to play when trust is understood this way.

Keywords: conditions taken for granted, modernity, late modernity, secularism, post secularity, trust, religious language, theology, life-views, literature, film, L Wittgenstein, A Nygren, DZ Phillips. L Hertzberg.