“.____________.” Taking Wittgenstein’s prayers seriously

2025
journal article
article
dc.abstract.enThis article examines Wittgenstein’s wartime private notebooks (MS 101–103), shifting attention from his philosophical reflections on religion and prayer to the abundance of written addresses to God found within the coded sections. Wittgenstein’s well-known assertion that "to pray means to think about the meaning of life" is juxtaposed with direct invocations of God and the Spirit, including the Pater Noster and prayers for courage and submission to the divine will. These invocations, accompanied by strokes or varied long em dashes framed by dots or exclamation marks which Martin Pilch has hypothesized to be symbolic representations of prayers-invite further reflection. Wittgenstein’s religious utterances are not merely outpourings of anguish, but manifestations of a sustained effort to align both life and work with the will of God, and to offer them for His glory. A compelling illustration of this spiritual orientation appears in M. O’C. Drury’s recollection of Wittgenstein’s declaration that his only wish was for his work to conform to the divine will. The interplay between philosophical inquiry and prayer evokes the Confessions of Saint Augustine, a spirit present throughout Wittgenstein’s work. Augustine’s integration of prayer and confession has similarly inspired 20th-century thinkers such as Jacques Derrida and Jean-François Lyotard. These Augustinian traces challenge conventional understandings of language and its limits, as well as the role of written language and punctuation, demanding a profound hermeneutics of the philosopher’s prayer
dc.affiliationWydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Religioznawstwa
dc.contributor.authorIdziak-Smoczyńska, Urszula - 200107
dc.date.accession2025
dc.date.accessioned2025-12-11T12:23:38Z
dc.date.available2025-12-11T12:23:38Z
dc.date.createdat2025-12-11T10:09:40Zen
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.openaccess0
dc.description.accesstimew momencie opublikowania
dc.description.additionalBibliogr. s. 19-20. Finansowanie: niniejsze badanie nie było finansowane ze środków zewnętrznych.
dc.description.number7
dc.description.versionostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume16
dc.identifier.articleid878
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/rel16070878
dc.identifier.eissn2077-1444
dc.identifier.urihttps://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/567392
dc.languageeng
dc.language.containereng
dc.rightsDodaję tylko opis bibliograficzny
dc.rights.licenceCC-BY
dc.share.typeotwarte czasopismo
dc.subject.enLudwigWittgenstein
dc.subject.encode
dc.subject.enpater noster
dc.subject.enSamuel Johnson
dc.subject.enGottfried Keller
dc.subject.enprayer
dc.subtypeArticle
dc.title“.____________.” Taking Wittgenstein’s prayers seriously
dc.title.journalReligions
dc.title.volumeParadigms, Terminology, and Exegesis : Toward the Nonsupersessionist Reading of the New Testament
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typePublicationen
dc.abstract.en
This article examines Wittgenstein’s wartime private notebooks (MS 101–103), shifting attention from his philosophical reflections on religion and prayer to the abundance of written addresses to God found within the coded sections. Wittgenstein’s well-known assertion that "to pray means to think about the meaning of life" is juxtaposed with direct invocations of God and the Spirit, including the Pater Noster and prayers for courage and submission to the divine will. These invocations, accompanied by strokes or varied long em dashes framed by dots or exclamation marks which Martin Pilch has hypothesized to be symbolic representations of prayers-invite further reflection. Wittgenstein’s religious utterances are not merely outpourings of anguish, but manifestations of a sustained effort to align both life and work with the will of God, and to offer them for His glory. A compelling illustration of this spiritual orientation appears in M. O’C. Drury’s recollection of Wittgenstein’s declaration that his only wish was for his work to conform to the divine will. The interplay between philosophical inquiry and prayer evokes the Confessions of Saint Augustine, a spirit present throughout Wittgenstein’s work. Augustine’s integration of prayer and confession has similarly inspired 20th-century thinkers such as Jacques Derrida and Jean-François Lyotard. These Augustinian traces challenge conventional understandings of language and its limits, as well as the role of written language and punctuation, demanding a profound hermeneutics of the philosopher’s prayer
dc.affiliation
Wydział Filozoficzny : Instytut Religioznawstwa
dc.contributor.author
Idziak-Smoczyńska, Urszula - 200107
dc.date.accession
2025
dc.date.accessioned
2025-12-11T12:23:38Z
dc.date.available
2025-12-11T12:23:38Z
dc.date.createdaten
2025-12-11T10:09:40Z
dc.date.issued
2025
dc.date.openaccess
0
dc.description.accesstime
w momencie opublikowania
dc.description.additional
Bibliogr. s. 19-20. Finansowanie: niniejsze badanie nie było finansowane ze środków zewnętrznych.
dc.description.number
7
dc.description.version
ostateczna wersja wydawcy
dc.description.volume
16
dc.identifier.articleid
878
dc.identifier.doi
10.3390/rel16070878
dc.identifier.eissn
2077-1444
dc.identifier.uri
https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/handle/item/567392
dc.language
eng
dc.language.container
eng
dc.rights
Dodaję tylko opis bibliograficzny
dc.rights.licence
CC-BY
dc.share.type
otwarte czasopismo
dc.subject.en
LudwigWittgenstein
dc.subject.en
code
dc.subject.en
pater noster
dc.subject.en
Samuel Johnson
dc.subject.en
Gottfried Keller
dc.subject.en
prayer
dc.subtype
Article
dc.title
“.____________.” Taking Wittgenstein’s prayers seriously
dc.title.journal
Religions
dc.title.volume
Paradigms, Terminology, and Exegesis : Toward the Nonsupersessionist Reading of the New Testament
dc.type
JournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeen
Publication
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