Reintroducing Ratzinger to Wittgenstein

Abstract Tracey Rowland has recently written a chapter on Ratzinger’s view of Wittgenstein and notes that he interprets Wittgenstein as a logical positivist whose philosophy fails to seek truth itself. This reading of Wittgenstein lacks a serious engagement with the English Dominicans’ reception of him. If Ratzinger had interacted more with them, he might have had a different picture of Wittgenstein and recognized the ways in which his work encourages humanity to live in a state of wonder flowing from its creaturely existence. In particular, Fergus Kerr and others offer a compelling account of how Wittgenstein’s philosophy creates this sense of wonder and, by implication, reveal the areas of continuity between him and Ratzinger. This fact is concretized by identifying the way Ratzinger’s understanding of the clarity of scriptural and dogmatic language is enhanced by Wittgenstein’s grammatical analysis. Ultimately, this essay provides an example of how Wittgenstein and Ratzinger can be placed in fruitful dialog with one another.