Cora Diamond’s Theological Imagination

The publication of Reading Wittgenstein with Anscombe, Going on to Ethics presents an opportunity to review Cora Diamond’s contribution to Christian theology and ethics. While Diamond’s regular interlocutors (Ludwig Wittgenstein, Iris Murdoch, Elizabeth Anscombe, Simone Weil and Stanley Cavell) carry obvious theological resonance with well-trodden pathways into any number of theological loci, it is Diamond’s philosophical analysis that is of greatest benefit for theology. Her particular arguments, including some of analytic philosophy’s most astute and innovative formulations, offer profound insights into the scope and implications of theological reflection. Diamond’s contributions are well known within contemporary philosophy. Her penetrating insights on the nature and repercussions of moral thought, particularly her work on the normative status of humans and animals, have upended entire ways of thinking. Still, it is Diamond’s highly original reading of Ludwig Wittgenstein that stands out as her most important and perhaps most lasting contribution. Because Wittgenstein’s presence within contemporary analytic philosophy remains fraught, Diamond’s innovations have often fallen by the wayside, highly significant for purveyors of “the new Wittgenstein,” but for the most part underappreciated within the broader guild of philosophy. Considering that Wittgenstein plays such an influential role in contemporary Anglophone theology, however, Diamond’s interpretation matters crucially, not least for Christian theologians. Reading Wittgenstein with Anscombe, Going on to Ethics brings together essays collected over a thirty year period.1 The book consists of three parts. Part I, incorporating three essays on propositions, addresses the nature of philosophical activity. Part II uses two essays to resolve an objection Anscombe raised about Wittgenstein’s account of propositions. Part III’s two essays involve Diamond “going on to ethics” following her resolution of Anscombe’s objection. The essays are quite demanding but the fruits gleaned by their engagement are well worth the effort. In what follows, I outline the book’s major formulations and their implications for Christian theology with a view to elucidating some of the returns of Diamond’s theological imagination.