PHIL30890

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. The course will take you through his posthumously published masterpiece "Philosophical Investigations" (PI), addressing his attack on the Augustinian conception of language, his Private Language Argument and its significance, his conception of rule-following and normativity generally, and his anti-empiricist conception of the mind. Wittgenstein famously revolutionised the practice of philosophy twice during the course of the 20th century, in two very different ways. Through close in-class discussions of the text and short written assignments in seminar-style, participative fashion, we hope to bring out some of the excitement and deep puzzlement that Wittgenstein's most important text continues to elicit.

(A note on the assessment for this module: Each week there will be different assigned readings from Wittgenstein's PI to be discussed. There will be 6 short summary and reflection assignments submitted to Brightspace (600–1000 words, roughly 1-2 pages, at 14% each; the remaining 16% is for engagement in the seminars and tutorials ). These will be due on Mondays by 23:59 on whatever reading is assigned for that given week (the seminars are on Wed 11-12.50pm). 3 of the 6 assignments must be submitted during seminar weeks 2–6, with your choice of which 3 Mondays to submit; similarly, 3 will be submitted during weeks 7–12 on Mondays of your choice. (Late submissions will be accepted after the 1st half and again after the 2nd half of the module, at the usual UCD 1-2 week late penalties.)