Wittgenstein and The Language Game View in Response to the Empirical Challenge

In response to the empirical challenge, Wittgenstein had grown dissatisfied with his earlier book (Tractatus Logico-Philosophus) and in the second half of his life, he developed a different approach to language. In this later period, he stressed how varied language was, rather than attempting to develop an ideal language. What are Wittgenstein’s Language Games? The … Read more

Braithwaite – An Empiricists view on the Nature of Religion

The Non-cognitive view Taking up the challenges put down by Flew and earlier by A.J.Ayer, R.B. Braithwaite, a Cambridge professor, delivered a lecture in 1955 which became something of a classic. It was called ‘An Empiricist’s View of the Nature of Religious Belief‘. An Empiricists View of the Nature of Religious Belief In the lecture, … Read more

Archetypes – What are Archetypes? Types of Archetypes

Archetypes (according to Jung) are mythological motifs in our consciousness which are ‘typical forms that appear spontaneously all over the world, independently of tradition, in myths, fairytales, fantasies, dreams, visions, and the delusional systems of the insane’. Jung revived the ancient Gnostic term ‘archetype’ for this phenomenon – it represented the ‘patterning tendency’ in the human … Read more

Individuation

Today we will explore the Jungian concept of Individuation – the process of becoming an individual as developed by Carl Gustav Jung. Martin Schmidt states that “Jung saw it as the process of self realisation, the discovery and experience of meaning and purpose in life; the means by which one finds oneself and becomes who … Read more

A Comparison of Freud and Jung on Religion

I'm a Freud you're not getting any Junger

Today, I will be comparing two famous Psychologists on their views of religion – I hope that you enjoy my comparison of Freud and Jung. 1: For Freud religion was an obsessional neurosis. People need to be ‘cured’ of religion- He believed that psychology would eventually succeed in explaining religion away in much the same way … Read more

What Ethnicity is God?

This week, a student asked me the question (via Quora) ‘What ethnicity is God?’ This is definitely a question to be answered in terms of religious language – how can we describe God? To ask ‘What ethnicity is God? is a personification – you cannot apply human qualities which is a non-human form. The same … Read more

The Box – Philosophical and Psychological Thriller

Studying ethics? Why not spend an evening watching the screwed up psychological thriller ‘The Box‘ starring Cameron Diaz? This tense movie has an intriguing ethical premise.  ‘The Box’ definitely gets you thinking on a philosophical level. It is based on the short story ‘Button-Button‘ by Richard Matheson. The Box Set in 1976, ‘The Box’ is … Read more