The analysis of ontological argument as an essay in metaphilosophy (Norman Malcolm and Morris Lazerowitz)
Annotation
The article deals with two sets of ideas developed by the Wittgensteinian philosophers — the concept of metaphilosophy, and the philosophy of religion. While these sets are usually treated as epitomes of Wittgensteinianism, they remain to be studied separately and independently. Morris Lazerowitz coined the notion of metaphilosophy to characterize the genuine nature of Wittgenstein’s practice aimed at the understanding of how philosophy (dis-)functions. The article shows how this notion was operative in the discussion of the ontological argument, which took place between Malcolm and Lazerowitz. Despite their affinity to Wittgenstein and the common views on philosophy as well as ordinary language, they arrived at the eminently opposite decisions as to the ontological argument. These decisions demonstrate that the focus of their philosophy of religion was not so much religious reasoning as philosophers’ intellectual practice.
Keywords
the Wittgensteinian philosophy, metaphilosophy, philosophy of religion, ontological argument, necessary propositions, Malcolm, Lazerowitz
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