Wittgenstein's Metaphysics

by John W. Cook

Overview

Wittgenstein's Metaphysics offers a radical new interpretation of the fundamental ideas of Ludwig Wittgenstein. It takes issue with the conventional view that after 1930 Wittgenstein rejected the philosophy of the Tractatus and developed a wholly new conception of philosophy. By tracing the evolution of Wittgenstein's ideas, Cook shows that they are neither as original nor as difficult as is often supposed. Wittgenstein was essentially an empiricist, and the difference between his early views (as set forth in the Tractatus) and the later views (as expounded in the Philosophical Investigations) lies chiefly in the fact that after 1930 he replaced his early version of reductionism with a subtler version. So he ended where he began, as an empiricist armed with a theory of meaning. This iconoclastic interpretation is sure to influence all future study of Wittgenstein and will provoke a reassessment of the nature of his contribution to philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521460194
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/28/1994
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. From Idealism to Pure Realism: 1. Wittgenstein's philosophical beginnings; 2. Neutral monism; 3. The 'objects' of the Tractatus; 4. The essence of the world can be shown but not said; 5. What the solipsist means is quite correct; 6. Pure realism and the elimination of private objects; Part II. The Metaphysics of Wittgenstein's Later Philosophy: 7. Wittgenstein's phenomenalism; 8. A new philosophical method; 9. Wittgenstein's behaviourism; 10. Wittgenstein and Kohler; Part III. Causation and Science in a Phenomenal World: 11. Hume on causation; 12. Wittgenstein's Humean view of causation; 13. The problem of induction; Part IV. Logical Possibilities and the Possibility of Knowledge: 14. Logical possibilities and philosophical method; 15. The search for a phenomenalist's theory of knowledge; Part V. The Past, Memory, and the Private Language Argument: 16. Memory, tenses and the past; 17. Wittgenstein's analysis of mental states and powers; 18. Following a rule; 19. The private language argument; 20. Names of sensations and the use theory of meaning; Name index; Subject index.

Editorial Reviews

"This lucidly written book is single-mindedly devoted to exhibiting Wittgenstein's work as continuous development within traditional metaphysics....A special merit of the book is the presentation, in the Introduction, of these argued for, and the so-called myths which Cook argues against." Alice Ambrose, International Studies in Philosophy

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