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Using new archival material, this article reconstructs the editorial history of Philosophical Grammar, an edition that Rush Rhees crafted from Wittgenstein's papers. Contrasting the often‐held view that Rhees, in editing Philosophical Grammar, arbitrarily interfered with Wittgenstein's Big Typescript, the article illuminates the work, motives and reasons that underlie Rhees' editing. Although recent philological evidence supports his editorial decisions, Rhees, at the time, made them based on his desire to do justice to his understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophical orientation. Against this background, purely text‐philological criticism of Philosophical Grammar seems to come from a philosophical culture that was alien to Rhees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gordon Baker in his last decade published a series of papers (now collected in Baker 2004 ), which are revolutionary in their proposals for understanding of later Wittgenstein. Taking our lead from the first of those papers, on “perspicuous presentations,” we offer new criticisms of ‘elucidatory’ readers of later Wittgenstein, such as Peter Hacker: we argue that their readings fail to connect with the radically therapeutic intent of the ‘perspicuous presentation’ concept, as an achievement-term, rather than a kind of ‘objective’ mapping of a ‘conceptual landscape.’ Baker's Wittgenstein, far from being a ‘language policeman’ of the kind that often fails to influence mainstream philosophy, offers an alternative to the latent scientism of Wittgenstein's influential ‘elucidatory’ readers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francesco Berto has recently written 'The Gödel Paradox and Wittgenstein's Reasons,' about a paradox first formulated by Graham Priest in 1971. The major reason for disagreeing with Berto's conclusions concerns his elucidation of Wittgenstein's understanding of Gödel's theorems. Seemingly, Wittgenstein was some kind of proto-paraconsistentist. Priest himself has also, though in a different way, tried to tar Wittgenstein with the same brush. But the resolution of other paradoxes is intimately linked with the resolution of the Gödel Paradox, and with understanding Wittgenstein's views of Gödel's theorems. So this paper discusses some other paradoxes before looking at Wittgenstein's relevant views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In her recent book, A Different Order of Difficulty, Karen Zumhagen‐Yekplé uses a resolute reading of Wittgenstein's Tractatus Logico‐Philosophicus to highlight similarities between Wittgenstein's work and his contemporaries Virginia Woolf, James Joyce and Franz Kafka. On the basis of this reading, she claims that Wittgenstein's early masterpiece is a modernist work. This article argues that there are profound problems with the resolute reading that she offers, and it suggests that 'traditional' readings of the Tractatus survive the criticisms she makes of them. Nonetheless, a case can still be made that Wittgenstein's work is a modernist one, and it is a useful exercise to compare the Tractatus with modernist works from the 1920s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The once deeply held conviction that all necessary truths are known a priori is now widely, although by no means universally agreed to have been subjected to penetrating, if not devastating criticism. Scott Soames, for example, on behalf of Saul Kripke, and indirectly of Hilary Putnam, argues that in respect of natural kinds, the introduction of basic essentialist assumptions grounded in our pre-theoretical habits of thinking and speaking – for example, that atomic or molecular structure provides the underlying essence of a substance – allows a sentence like “water = H20,” in which the identity sign is flanked by rigid designators to express a metaphysically necessary truth. Yet doubts and puzzlement remain over the status of a posteriori necessities, including those relating to an individual's origin. This paper considers some prominent criticisms that have been made of the Kripke–Putnam approach by A. J. Ayer and Frank Ebersole among others and reveals in what respects they are valid, where they are misplaced, and, perhaps more importantly, why the most valuable aspect of this approach can be seen to reflect aspects of our scientific procedures that do indeed point towards an application for a distinction that roughly mirrors that between epistemic and metaphysical possibility, yet one that is grounded instead in the nature of our actual practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to John Haldane's recent criticisms of D. Z. Phillips’ treatment of the Christian belief in eternal life. I argue that Haldane's attempt to show that Phillips only partially elucidates, and hence misrepresents, this belief is unsuccessful, the biblical and theological passages cited by Haldane being amenable to elucidation in terms of which Phillips would have approved. Haldane makes three points to support his main claim, and I argue that none of these has significant force against Phillips’ position unless we presuppose the truth of some realist account of meaning, which Phillips would, of course, reject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responds to the criticism of author Jaime Ferreira on the book written by philosopher Soren Kieerkegaard entitled `Works of Love.' Charges made against Kierkegaard's philosophy; Acosmism in Kiekegaard's ethics; How Kierkegaard's Christian ethics should be interpreted.

Current debates on human rationality are divided between what Matthew Boyle calls the additive and transformative approaches. My concern is not with the current debate, but with Boyle's alignment of Descartes and Aristotle with the modern approaches, directing his criticisms against the former, and his defence in support of the latter. What motivates my enquiry is whether Boyle's use of the two philosophers' theses stands up to scrutiny and consequently whether his alignments are cogent. I focus primarily on Descartes' position, examining Boyle's criticisms. Towards the end, I turn to Aristotle's position and raise two central questions omitted by Boyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the commentary made by author Michael Nedo on the works of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Discussion on the book 'Nachlass'; Historical perspective in studying the texts written by the philosopher; Views on the philosophical aspect of language use.

We offer a reading of Anselm's Ontological Argument inspired by Wittgenstein which focuses on the fact that the 'argument' occurs in a prayer addressed to God, making it a strange argument since as a prayer it seems to presuppose its conclusion. We reconstruct the argument as expressive. Within the religious perspective, the issues are to be focused on the right object not to present an argument for the existence of God. While this sort of reading lets us understand much about the argument, it also opens new avenues of criticism, one of which is the problem of worship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present essay, I aim to accentuate an analogy between the patterns of thought articulated by Berkeley's Hylas and those of Nagel in his philosophy of bats and aliens. The comparison has a critical purpose, with Philonous playing a role similar to that of Wittgenstein. I argue that Nagel's central claim comes down to statements that are marked by a peculiar form of emptiness. Towards the end, though, I will concede that this kind of Wittgensteinian criticism runs up against certain limits. The fantasies produced by Hylas or Nagel have as counterparts genuine philosophical expressions of experience, which are not vulnerable to the charges levelled at their theoretical parallels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the difference in how Ludwig Wittgenstein's 'Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus' and 'Philosophical Investigations' explore a conception of philosophical activity as bringing about a linear ascent to perfect clarity and a conception of philosophical activity as an on-going struggle against the temptation to confusion. Stylistic analysis of the works; Comparison of the works with Augustine's 'Confessions'; Suggestions.

Explores the epistemic propositions of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his book `On Certainty.' Circumstances in which the propositions were uttered; Distinction between empirical and logical propositions; Role of evidence in the propositions.

Analyzes the theory of color in the book 'Remarks on Colour,' by Ludwig Wittgenstein. Theories on white and green; Discussion on the lightness relations between colors; Comparison with the book 'Theory of Colours,' by Goethe.

Discusses the philosophy of aspect-perception which is attributed to philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. Importance for aesthetics; Outline of Wittgenstein's notion of aspect-perception; Discussion on perception and art; Complications of the concept.

Examines the Aristotelian concept of ethical life and the existence of human spirit. Response of the spirit to misfortune and suffering; Relationship of a person's character traits to the quality of his spirit; Discussion on the ethical concept of spirit espoused by philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.