Wittgenstein and Philosophy

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine certain key aspects of Wittgenstein's later teaching regarding philosophy in both its traditional form and its proper, Wittgensteinian form. The primary reason for choosing the later teaching is Wittgenstein's clear indication that this is his best, most mature and, hence, most authoritative account of the matter. The thesis draws, so far as his own works are concerned, exclusively on his later writings, especially the Philosophical Investigations. The discussion proceeds as follows. In the first chapter, an attempt is made to expound systematically the substance of the later Wittgenstein's critique of traditional philosophy, particularly the 'skeptical' side of traditional philosophy as well as the conceptions of 'language' and 'meaning' on which it is founded. The second chapter consists in an attempt to illuminate, in the light of this critique, Wittgenstein's later understanding of proper philosophical inquiry. In the third and final chapter, some of the problems or questions pertaining to Wittgenstein's later teaching concerning philosophy are examined. Special attention is given to the question of whether or not Wittgenstein's later thought is historicist in essence (and therefore contains an essentially historicist teaching about philosophy).</p>