Robert Vinten is an English academic living and working in Lisbon, Portugal. The focus of his research is the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and at present he is looking at the relevance of Wittgenstein’s thought to understanding religious belief. He is the author of Wittgenstein and the Social Sciences (Anthem Press, 2020) and of numerous journal articles.
摘要
Whereas Christians often give guilt a prominent role, Buddhists are encouraged not to dwell on feelings of guilt. Leading members of the Triratna organisation – Sangharakshita, Subhuti and Subhadramati – characterise guilt as a negative emotion that hinders spiritual growth. However, if we carefully examine the concept of guilt in the manner of Wittgenstein we find that the accounts of guilt given by leading members of Triratna mischaracterise it and so ignore its positive aspects. They should acknowledge the valuable role that guilt can play in our lives.
