Wittgenstein At His Word (continuum Studies In British Philosophy)
by Duncan Richter /
2004 / English / PDF
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Wittgenstein's work is notoriously difficult to understand and,
at least superficially, deals almost exclusively with obscure and
technical problems in logic and the philosophy of language. He
once asked rhetorically: "What is the use of philosophy ... if it
does not improve your thinking about the important questions of
everyday life?". This book explains how Wittgenstein's idea of
the value of philosophy shaped his philosophical method and led
him to talk and write about the abstruse questions he dealt with
in most of his work.
Wittgenstein's work is notoriously difficult to understand and,
at least superficially, deals almost exclusively with obscure and
technical problems in logic and the philosophy of language. He
once asked rhetorically: "What is the use of philosophy ... if it
does not improve your thinking about the important questions of
everyday life?". This book explains how Wittgenstein's idea of
the value of philosophy shaped his philosophical method and led
him to talk and write about the abstruse questions he dealt with
in most of his work.
This is not just another introductory overview of Wittgenstein's
philosophy. It is one of the few that provide such an overview
while also referring constantly to ethics and religion. Moreover,
its interpretation of Wittgenstein is far from orthodox, as
standard treatments of his work disregard or downplay his claims
about what he was doing and why. Duncan Richter takes him at his
word, showing the connections between Wittgenstein's aims, the
various subjects he worked on (psychology, religion, aesthetics,
etc.), and the way in which he worked on them.
This is not just another introductory overview of Wittgenstein's
philosophy. It is one of the few that provide such an overview
while also referring constantly to ethics and religion. Moreover,
its interpretation of Wittgenstein is far from orthodox, as
standard treatments of his work disregard or downplay his claims
about what he was doing and why. Duncan Richter takes him at his
word, showing the connections between Wittgenstein's aims, the
various subjects he worked on (psychology, religion, aesthetics,
etc.), and the way in which he worked on them.
