PHIL30890 Wittgenstein and the Origins of Analytic Philosophy

Academic Year 2022/2023

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) remains one of the most influential and yet enigmatic philosophers of the twentieth century. The course will address the central themes concerning language and the nature of philosophy in Wittgenstein’s later work, with particular emphasis on his Philosophical Investigations. The lectures will begin with an analysis of Wittgenstein’s philosophical development from 1929 to the writing of the Philosophical Investigations, including the steps he took in rejecting the philosophical framework of his early work, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. A major topic that will be addressed is the role of arguments in his later philosophy. Are there any arguments in his Philosophical Investigations? If so, what are they and are they compelling? And since Wittgenstein claimed to not be defending any philosophical theses, what role do arguments play for him (if not to support a philosophical theory)? Approaching the interpretation of Wittgenstein’s philosophy in this way will allow us to explore the wider significance of his work. Even if other analytic philosophers do not share his idiosyncratic conception of philosophy, can they engage with his arguments and learn from them? The course will consider how Wittgenstein’s writings challenge all major theories of language, including referential theories and use theories. His philosophy also forces us to reflect on issues such as the normativity of meaning, the social dimension of language, and, more broadly, on our deepest assumptions about the nature of language.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

Describe and critically assess the main ideas and arguments concerning language and the nature of philosophy in Wittgenstein’s writings (early, middle, and later).

Critically engage with the question of Wittgenstein’s importance for: (a) the historical development of twentieth century analytic philosophy; and (b) current debates in analytic philosophy.

Indicative Module Content:

Course Schedule (subject to change)

Topic 1: Introduction: Analytic Philosophy and the Linguistic Turn in Philosophy
Background Reading:

Topic 2: Wittgenstein and his contemporaries: An overview

Topic 3: Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Tractatus, from logic to mysticism
Wittgenstein, L., Tractatus Logico Philosophicus , (London,: Routledge, 1961)

Topic 4: The middle Wittgenstein

Topic 5: Ludwig Wittgenstein: Philosophical Investigations and the return to ordinary language
Reading: Baghramian (1998) Chapter on Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein, L. (1956), Philosophical Investigations

Topic 6: On Certainty

Topic 7: The legacies of Wittgenstein

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Tutorial

7
Autonomous Student Learning

51
Online Learning

18
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
A blended methodology of lectures, tutorials, and online learning will be adopted. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Essay: An Essay of 2500-3000 words on a topic relevant to the course. Week 8 n/a Graded Yes

50
Examination: A two hours examination at the end of the trimester. 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded Yes

50

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback on he essays will be provided approximately two weeks after the submission deadline. Students are encouraged to discuss their choice of topic and their approach to the essay with their lecturer at least two weeks before the deadline.


Wittgenstein, L., Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. London: Routledge, either Ogden or Pears and McGuinness translations.

Wittgenstein, L., Philosophical Investigations. 3rd Ed. G. E. M. Anscombe (trans.). Oxford: Blackwell.

Selections from Wittgenstein’s ‘middle period’ manuscripts and lectures will also be addressed in the course.

Other texts (for a general introduction to Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, see Stern 2004; selections from all the other secondary texts will be highlighted in the lectures):

Baker, G. P. & Hacker, P. M. S. (1980, 1985, 1990, 1996), An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, Four Volumes. Oxford: Blackwell.

Bar-On, D. (1992). ‘On the Possibility of a Solitary Language.’ Noûs 26 (1), pp. 27-45.

Boghossian, P. (1989). ‘The Rule-Following Considerations.’ Mind 98, pp. 507-549.

Candlish, S. (1980). ‘The Real Private Language Argument.’ Philosophy, Vol. 55 (211), pp. 85-94.

Crary, A. & Read, R. eds. (2000). The New Wittgenstein. London & New York: Routledge.

Goldfarb, W. (1983), ‘I Want You to Bring Me a Slab: Remarks on the Opening Sections of the Philosophical Investigations.’ Synthese, Vol. 56 (3), pp. 265-282.

Horwich, P. (2012). Wittgenstein’s Metaphilosophy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kripke, S. (1982). Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

McDowell, J. (2009a). ‘Are Meaning, Understanding, etc., Definite States?’. In The Engaged Intellect: Philosophical Essays. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press, 2009.

McDowell, J. (2009b). ‘How Not to Read Philosophical Investigations: Brandom’s Wittgenstein’. In The Engaged Intellect: Philosophical Essays. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press, 2009.

McNally, T. (2017). Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Language: The Legacy of the Philosophical Investigations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Stern, D. G. (2004), Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Stern, D. (2007). ‘The Uses of Wittgenstein’s Beetle: Philosophical Investigations §293 and Its Interpreters.’ In G. Kahane, E. Kanterian & O. Kuusela (Eds.), Wittgenstein and his Interpreters: Essays in Memory of Gordon Baker. Malden, US, Oxford, UK, & Victoria, Australia: Blackwell Publishing.

Stroud, B. (1965), ‘Wittgenstein and Logical Necessity.’ Philosophical Review, vol. 74, pp. 504-518.

Whiting, D. ed. (2010). The Later Wittgenstein on Language. Hampshire & New York: Palgrave MacMillan.

Wright, C. (2007). ‘Rule-Following without Reasons: Wittgenstein’s Quietism and the Constitutive Question.’ Ratio 20 (4), pp. 481-502.








Name Role
Professor James O'Shea Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Rowland Stout Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Maria Agnese Casellato Tutor