Imperatives are neither true nor false

Let's explore the exploration of the sources and point of the notion of "language games."  In regards to choosing paradigms, we want to ask whether there are any meta-criteria for choosing which game to play.

However important description may be, it is not the only language game in town.  Asserting and describing don't exhaust what can be done in language, because it also includes imperatives, performatives (such as promises, namings and forgivings), expressives and so on.

Different games have different rules for "good play."  What did Wittgenstein mean when he said, "This game is played"?  Without some notion of felicity conditions, "This game is played" admits all noises whatsoever.

Theists certainly jumped on this wagon.  Generally, however, the mark of a good play in any game, even if it is a bad game, is effectiveness-in-the-game.  

An important figure who had much influence on the development of religious non-realism was Ludwig Wittgenstein. In his later works, Wittgenstein understood language to be not a fixed structure directly corresponding to the way things actually are, but rather a human activity susceptible to the vicissitudes of human life and practice. Language does not provide a picture of reality, he argued, but rather presents a set of activities which he dubbed “language games.” In learning language, one needs to be able to respond to words in various contexts; speech and action work together. In many cases, then, the meaning of a word is its use in the language. For Wittgenstein, this is true in all forms of discourse, including religious discourse. In speaking of God or other religious terms or concepts, their meanings have more to do with their use than with their denotation. The language games of the religions reflect the practices and forms of life of the various religious adherents; religious statements should not be taken as providing literal descriptions of a reality that somehow lies beyond those activities.

The bridge to religion is not difficult to build. Religious ideas are among the propositions believers have learnt, either by other people or God’s revelation itself. They not only form a language game of recognizable language in which truth and doubt function, but also contribute to our system of knowledge. For some people the religious language is even foundational; it forms the basic of our action and thoughts.