
Wittgenstein: Comparisons and Context is a collection of P. M. S. Hacker's papers on Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinian themes written over the last decade. It presents Hacker's own (Wittgensteinian) conception of philosophy, and defends it against criticisms. Two essays compare Wittgenstein with Kant on transcendental arguments, and offer a Wittgensteinian critique of Kant's transcendental deduction. Two further essays trace the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy of psychology, and examine his anthropological and ethnological approach to philosophical problems. This leads naturally to a synoptic comparison of Wittgenstein's later philosophy of language with formal, truth-conditional conceptions of language. A further two clarificatory essays follow these comparative ones: the first concerns Wittgenstein's conception of grammar, and his exclusion of theses, doctrines, dogmas, and opinions in philosophy; the second concerns his treatment of intentionality. The penultimate essay examines Quine's epistemological naturalism, which is often presented as a more scientific approach to philosophical problems than Wittgenstein's. The final essay offers a synoptic view of analytic philosophy and its history, in which Wittgenstein played so notable a part. The volume complements Hacker's previous collection, Wittgenstein: Connections and Controversies (OUP, 2001), but stands as an independent contribution to work in the field.
This collection investigates the core tenets of Ludwig Wittgenstein's later philosophy by situating his work within broader historical and contemporary philosophical debates. P. M. S. Hacker, a prominent scholar of Wittgenstein, utilizes his extensive expertise to defend a specific Wittgensteinian conception of philosophy. The text synthesizes a decade of research to address criticisms and clarify the relationship between Wittgenstein's methodology and other major philosophical traditions.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this volume as a significant contribution to Wittgensteinian scholarship, particularly for its rigorous defense of his methodology against competing analytic frameworks. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for advanced students and professional philosophers.
Page Count:
280
Publication Date:
2013-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191662488
ISBN-13:
9780191662485
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