Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction

Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: A. C. Grayling
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191540382
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original philospher, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking goes well beyond philosophy itself. In this book, which aims to make Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general non-specialist reader, A. C. Grayling explains the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction

Wittgenstein: A Very Short Introduction PDF Author: A. C. Grayling
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191540382
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 177

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original philospher, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking goes well beyond philosophy itself. In this book, which aims to make Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general non-specialist reader, A. C. Grayling explains the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Wittgenstein's Later Philosophy

Wittgenstein's Later Philosophy PDF Author: Oswald Hanfling
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791400708
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
"Philosophy," wrote Wittgenstein, "simply puts everything before us, and neither explains nor deduces anything." Hanfling takes seriously Wittgenstein's declaration of what he was doing, emphasizing Wittgenstein's rejection of theory and explanation in favor of 'description alone.' He demonstrates the importance of Wittgenstein's philosophy to long-standing problems about language, knowledge, the mind, and philosophy itself. The book exposes common misunderstandings about Wittgenstein, and examines in detail the celebrated 'private language' argument.

Wittgenstein on Logic as the Method of Philosophy

Wittgenstein on Logic as the Method of Philosophy PDF Author: Oskari Kuusela
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192565311
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
In Wittgenstein on Logic as the Method of Philosophy, Oskari Kuusela examines Wittgenstein's early and late philosophies of logic, situating their philosophical significance in early and middle analytic philosophy with particular reference to Frege, Russell, Carnap, and Strawson. He argues that not only the early but also the later Wittgenstein sought to further develop the logical-philosophical approaches of his contemporaries. Throughout his career Wittgenstein's aim was to resolve problems with and address the limitations of Frege's and Russell's accounts of logic and their logical methodologies so as to achieve the philosophical progress that originally motivated the logical-philosophical approach. By re-examining the roots and development of analytic philosophy, Kuusela seeks to open up covered up paths for the further development of analytic philosophy. Offering a novel interpretation of the philosopher, he explains how Wittgenstein extends logical methodology beyond calculus-based logical methods and how his novel account of the status of logic enables one to do justice to the complexity and richness of language use and thought while retaining rigour and ideals of logic such as simplicity and exactness. In addition, this volume outlines the new kind of non-empiricist naturalism developed in Wittgenstein's later work and explaining how his account of logic can be used to dissolve the long-standing methodological dispute between the ideal and ordinary language schools of analytic philosophy. It is of interest to scholars, researchers, and advance students of philosophy interested in engaging with a number of scholarly debates.

Wittgenstein's Later Theory of Meaning

Wittgenstein's Later Theory of Meaning PDF Author:
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118642163
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Book Description
By exploring the significance of Wittgenstein’s later texts relating to the philosophy of language, Wittgenstein’s Later Theory of Meaning offers insights that will transform our understanding of the influential 20th-century philosopher. Explores the significance of Wittgenstein’s later texts relating to the philosophy of language, and offers new insights that transform our understanding of the influential 20th-century philosopher Provides original interpretations of the systematic points about language in Wittgenstein’s later writings that reveal his theory of meaning Engages in close readings of a variety of Wittgenstein’s later texts to explore what the philosopher really had to say about ‘kinds of words’ and ‘parts of speech’ Frees Wittgenstein from his reputation as an unsystematic thinker with nothing to offer but ‘therapy’ for individual cases of philosophical confusion

Philosophy as Therapy

Philosophy as Therapy PDF Author: James F. Peterman
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438415966
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
This book presents an account and defense of Wittgenstein's later philosophy emphasizing its therapeutic character. Peterman argues that any therapeutic philosophy must present an account of human health, a related account of the mechanisms of health and illness, and finally an account of how philosophy can bring someone from a state of illness to health. In light of this general model, he presents an interpretation of Wittgenstein's therapeutic project that emphasizes the continuity between it and the earlier ethical project of the Tractatus. The book confronts the problem of continuity by arguing that the earlier ethical goal of coming into agreement with the world as such is replaced in the later views by the therapeutic goal of coming into agreement with forms of life. In the course of the argument, Peterman challenges standard interpretations of Wittgenstein's project and standard modes of criticizing and defending it. The book also contributes to contemporary philosophical discussion by showing why we should take seriously the project of philosophical therapy.

The Struggle Against Dogmatism

The Struggle Against Dogmatism PDF Author: Oskari Kuusela
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 067403385X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Searching for rigor and a clear grasp of the essential features of their objects of investigation, philosophers are often driven to exaggerations and harmful simplifications. According to Ludwig Wittgenstein's provocative suggestion, this has to do with confusions relating to the status of philosophical statements. The Struggle against Dogmatism elucidates his view that there are no theses, doctrines, or theories in philosophy. Even when this claim is taken seriously, explanations of what it means are problematic--typically involving a relapse to theses. This book makes Wittgenstein's philosophical approach comprehensible by presenting it as a response to specific problems relating to the practice of philosophy, in particular the problem of dogmatism. Although the focus of this book is on Wittgenstein's later work, Oskari Kuusela also discusses Wittgenstein's early philosophy as expressed in the Tractatus, as well as the relation between his early and later work. In the light of this account of Wittgenstein's critique of his early thought, Kuusela is able to render concrete what Wittgenstein means by philosophizing without theses or theories. In his later philosophy, Kuusela argues, Wittgenstein establishes a non-metaphysical (though not anti-metaphysical) approach to philosophy without philosophical hierarchies. This method leads to an increase in the flexibility of philosophical thought without a loss in rigor.

Analytic Philosophy and the Later Wittgensteinian Tradition

Analytic Philosophy and the Later Wittgensteinian Tradition PDF Author: Paolo Tripodi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 1137499907
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This book aims to explain the decline of the later Wittgensteinian tradition in analytic philosophy during the second half of the twentieth century. Throughout the 1950s, Oxford was the center of analytic philosophy and Wittgenstein – the later Wittgenstein – the most influential contemporary thinker within that philosophical tradition. Wittgenstein's methods and ideas were widely accepted, with everything seeming to point to the Wittgensteinian paradigm having a similar impact on the philosophical scenes of all English speaking countries. However, this was not to be the case. By the 1980s, albeit still important, Wittgenstein was considered as a somewhat marginal thinker. What occurred within the history of analytic philosophy to produce such a decline? This book expertly traces the early reception of Wittgenstein in the United States, the shift in the humanities to a tradition rooted in the natural sciences, and the economic crisis of the mid-1970s, to reveal the factors that contributed to the eventual hostility towards the later Wittgensteinian tradition.

Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies

Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies PDF Author: P. M. S Hacker
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019924569X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies consists of thirteen thematically linked essays on different aspects of the philosophy of Wittgenstein, by one of the leading commentators on his work. After an opening overview of Wittgenstein's philosophy the following essays fall into two classes: those that investigate connections between the philosophy of Wittgenstein and other philosophers and philosophical trends, and those which enter into some of the controversies that, over the last two decades, have raged over the interpretation of one aspect or another of Wittgenstein's writings. The connections that are explored include the relationship between Wittgenstein's philosophy and the humanistic and hermeneutic traditions in European philosophy, Wittgenstein's response to Frazer's Golden Bough and the interpretation of ritual actions, his attitude towards and criticisms of Frege (both in the Tractatus and in the later philosophy), the relationship between his ideas and those of members of the Vienna Circle on the matter of ostensive definition, and a comparison of Carnap's conception of the elimination of metaphysics and of Strawson's rehabilitation of metaphysics with Wittgenstein's later criticisms of metaphysics. The controversies into which Hacker enters include the Diamond-Conant interpretation of the Tractatus (which is shown to be inconsistent with the text of the Tractatus and with Wittgenstein's explanations of and comments on his book), Winch's interpretation of the Tractatus conception of names, Kripke's interpretation of Wittgenstein's discussion of following a rule (which is demonstrated to be remote from Wittgenstein's intentions), and Malcolm's defence of the idea that Wittgenstein claimed that mastery of a language logically requires that the language be shared with other speakers. These far-ranging essays, several of them previously unpublished or difficult to find, shed much light upon different aspects of Wittgenstein's thought, and upon the controversies which it has stimulated.

Wittgenstein, Scepticism and Naturalism

Wittgenstein, Scepticism and Naturalism PDF Author: Marie McGinn
Publisher: Anthem Press
ISBN: 1785278398
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
Central to any interpretation of Wittgenstein’s later philosophy is an understanding of his philosophical method and the nature of the turn which characterises the evolution from his early to his later work. In the essays in Wittgenstein, Scepticism and Naturalism, Marie McGinn argues that this methodological shift has at its heart a highly distinctive form of naturalism, which has its roots in the works of Goethe. This form of naturalism emphasises achieving a clarified view of complex, natural phenomena in their natural setting, with a view to describing patterns and connections that are in plain view. Wittgenstein is seen as applying these methods to the task of conceptual clarification, whose aim is to dissolve philosophical problems and paradoxes. The essays cover the following topics: scepticism about the external world; scepticism about other minds; knowledge and belief; meaning and rule-following; psychological states and the distinctive first-person use of psychological concepts; the relation between the early and the later philosophy; and the nature of Wittgenstein’s naturalism.

Wittgenstein's Conception of Philosophy

Wittgenstein's Conception of Philosophy PDF Author: K. T. Fann
Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
ISBN: 1482832291
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 145

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Book Description
WITTGENSTEINS CONCEPTION OF PHILOSOPHY was first published in 1969 by Basil Blackwell Publishers, the official publisher of Wittgensteins works. It was intended to be a clear and concise introduction to Wittgensteins whole philosophy that corrects many basic misunderstandings of Wittgenstein at the time. After all these years, many scholars still regard it as the best introduction to Wittgenstein. We are reprinting this book and making it available electronically. In addition, we are appending here the authors last words on Wittgenstein: BEYOND MARX AND WITTGENSTEIN: A Confession of a Wittgensteinian Marxist Turned Taoist, a talk given in an international symposium on Marx and Wittgenstein held at Trinity College, Cambridge, UK, in 1999 and later published as the concluding chapter of the book: MARX AND WITTGENSTEIN: KNOWLEDGE, MORALITY AND POLITICS, edited by Gavin Kitchen and Nigel Pleasants, published by Routledge, 2002.