A Companion to Wittgenstein

The most comprehensive survey of Wittgenstein’s thought yet compiled, this volume of fifty newly commissioned essays by leading interpreters of his philosophy is a keynote addition to the Blackwell Companions to Philosophy series. Full of penetrating insights into the life and work of the most important philosopher of the twentieth century, the collection explores the full range of Wittgenstein’s contribution to philosophy. It includes essays on his intellectual development, his work in logic and mathematics, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and action, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion, and much else.

As well as examining Wittgenstein’s contribution to human understanding in detail, the Companion features vital contextual analysis that traces the relationship between his ideas and those of other philosophers and schools of thought, including the Aristotelian and continental philosophical traditions. Authors also address prominent themes that remain current in today’s philosophical debates, explaining Wittgenstein’s continuing legacy alongside his historical significance. Essential reading for scholars of philosophy at all levels, A Companion to Wittgenstein combines engaging commentary with unrivaled academic authority.

Hans-Johann Glock is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and Visiting Professor at the University of Reading, UK. He is the author of A Wittgenstein Dictionary (Blackwell 1996), Quine and Davidson on Language, Thought and Reality (2003), What is Analytic Philosophy? (2008), and La Mente de los Animales (2009). He has published numerous articles on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of language, the history of analytic philosophy, and Wittgenstein. He was formerly a Humboldt Research Fellow, a Hugh-Le-May Research Fellow and a Research Fellow at the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg. 

John Hyman is Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Oxford, UK, and a Fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford. He is editor of the British Journal of Aesthetics, and the author of The Imitation of Nature (Blackwell, 1989) and The Objective Eye (2006). Professor Hyman has written numerous articles on aesthetics, philosophy of action, epistemology and philosophy of mind. He was formerly a Getty Scholar at the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, a Fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow.

Notes on Contributors ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Wittgenstein’s Published Works in Order of Composition xiv

Introduction 1
Hans-Johann Glock and John Hyman

Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Sketch of His Life 5
Ray Monk

Part I Introductory 21

1. Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Development  23
Wolfgang Kienzler

2. Wittgenstein’s Texts and Style 41
David G. Stern

Part II Influences 57

3. Wittgenstein and Schopenhauer 59
Dale Jacquette

4. Wittgenstein and Frege 74
Michael Beaney

5. Wittgenstein and Russell 92
Graham Stevens

6. Wittgenstein, Hertz, and Boltzmann  110
John M. Preston

Part III Early Philosophy 125

7. Logical Atomism  127
Leo K.C. Cheung

8. The Picture Theory  141
Colin Johnston

9. Wittgenstein on Solipsism 159
Ernst Michael Lange

10. Resolute Readings of the Tractatus 175
James Conant and Silver Bronzo

11. Ineffability and Nonsense in the Tractatus 195
Leo K.C. Cheung

12. Metaphysics: From Ineffability to Normativity 209
P.M.S. Hacker

Part IV Philosophy and Grammar 229

13. Philosophy and Philosophical Method 231
Hans-Johann Glock

14. Grammar and Grammatical Statements 252
Severin Schroeder

15. The Autonomy of Grammar 269
Michael N. Forster

16. Surveyability 278
Joachim Schulte

Part V Logic and Mathematics  291

17. Logic and the Tractatus 293
Roger M. White

18. Wittgenstein’s Early Philosophy of Mathematics 305
Pasquale Frascolla

19. Wittgenstein’s Later Philosophy of Mathematics 319
A.W. Moore

20. Wittgenstein and Antirealism 332
Mathieu Marion

21. Necessity and Apriority 346
Eric Loomis

Part VI Language 359

22. Names and Ostensive Definitions 361
Kai Büttner

23. Meaning and Understanding 375
Jason Bridges

24. Rules and Rule-Following 390
Gary Ebbs

25. Vagueness and Family Resemblance 407
Hanoch Ben-Yami

26. Languages, Language-Games, and Forms of Life 420
Daniel Whiting

27. Wittgenstein on Truth 433
David Dolby

Part VII Mind and Action 443

28. Privacy and Private Language 445
Edward Kanterian

29. The Inner and the Outer 465
William Child

30. Wittgenstein on “I” and the Self 478
Maximilian de Gaynesford

31. Wittgenstein on Action and the Will 491
Maria Alvarez

32. Wittgenstein on Intentionality 502
Stefan Brandt

33. Wittgenstein on Seeing Aspects 517
Arif Ahmed

34. Wittgenstein on Color 533
Jonathan Westphal

Part VIII Epistemology 545

35. Wittgenstein on Knowledge and Certainty 547
Danièle Moyal-Sharrock

36. Wittgenstein on Skepticism 563
Duncan Pritchard

37. Wittgenstein on Causation and Induction 576
Constantine Sandis and Chon Tejedor

38. Wittgenstein and Philosophy of Science 587
Vasso Kindi

Part IX Ethics, Aesthetics, and Religion 603

39. Wittgenstein and Ethics 605
Robert L. Arrington

40. Wittgenstein and Aesthetics 612
Severin Schroeder

41. Wittgenstein and Anthropology 627
Brian R. Clack

42. Wittgenstein and Philosophy of Religion 639
John Cottingham

43. Wittgenstein and Psychoanalysis 651
Edward Harcourt

Part X Philosophical Schools and Traditions 667

44. Wittgenstein and the Aristotelian Tradition 669
Roger Pouivet

45. Wittgenstein and Kantianism 682
Robert Hanna

46. Wittgenstein and the Vienna Circle 699
Thomas Uebel

47. Wittgenstein and Ordinary Language Philosophy 718
Anita Avramides

48. Wittgenstein and Pragmatism 731
David Bakhurst and Cheryl Misak

49. Wittgenstein and Naturalism 746
Christopher Hookway

50. Wittgenstein and Continental Philosophy 757
Stephen Mulhall

Index 000

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.