Wittgenstein, who was very influential on Phillips, made it a point to represent religion faithfully. He wanted to “reflect” back like a mirror religious concepts. He wanted to leave “everything as it is” and not “interfere with the actual use of language” (Phillips 237). So, for him, the duty of the philosopher was of accurate description of religious beliefs. He did not assume that religion “is an outmoded way of thinking,” and so did not seek to judge or reform it through a scientific or rationalistic approach (240)
Wittgenstein sought to make a distinction between religion and superstition. He believed that superstition originates from “fear and is a sort of false science” (245). For instance, the belief that a certain behavior labeled as sin would result in “worldly punishment” or praying to God to avoid bad consequences was misguided. Religion was based on trust, not fear, for Wittgenstein. He sometimes differentiated between “higher” and “lower” religious expressions. Those who are living on the higher level of religious experience will have access to meanings which those on lower levels will not have. For instance, Wittgenstein interpreted “the Pauline doctrine of predestination [as] ugly nonsense, irreligiousness,” whereas someone at a higher level of religious experience would presumably be able to appreciate its deeper religious significance (246). In some instances, he “simply disbelieves” religious accounts as mistaken, such as trees bowing to a believer (248).
For James, he was not as interested in making philosophical delineations between what was reasonable and not reasonable. Neither was he interested in religious beliefs that were only accessible to religious people who have particular religious interpretations. He was interested in fantastic accounts of religious ecstasy – for him, this is what is truly religious. Whether hallucinations of not, this was not of interest to James – transformative experiences were of utmost importance in his religious investigations. As with the distinction made between James and Phillips, Wittgenstein parts ways with James because he is primarily interested in the ideas and concepts of religion, and in fact sometimes casts a critical eye on fantastic accounts by believers.
