Wittgenstein on Mind and Language

David G Stern author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:23rd Mar '95

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Wittgenstein on Mind and Language cover

A useful study....Clearly written and persuasively argued, this book is highly recommended.

Investigates what motivated Wittgenstein's philosophical writing, throwing light on the "Tractatus" and "Philosophical Investigations". This book is an exposition of Wittgenstein's early conception of the nature of representation and how his later revision and criticism of that work led to a radically different way of looking at mind and language.Drawing on ten years of research on the unpublished Wittgenstein papers, Stern investigates what motivated Wittgenstein's philosophical writing and casts new light on the Tratacus and Philosophical Investigations. The book is an exposition of Wittgenstein's early conception of the nature of representation and how his later revision and criticism of that work led to a radically different way of looking at mind and language. It also explains how the unpublished manuscripts and typescripts were put together and why they often provide better evidence of the development of his ideas than can be found in his published writing. In doing so, the book traces the development of a number of central themes in Wittgenstein's philosophy, including his conception of philosophical method, the picture theory of meaning, the limits of language, the application of language to experience, his treatment of private language, and what he called the "flow of life." Arguing that Wittgenstein's views are often much more simple (and more radical) than we have been led to believe, Wittgenstein on Mind and Language provides an overview of the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy and brings to light aspects of his philosophy that have been almost universally neglected.

A useful study....Clearly written and persuasively argued, this book is highly recommended. * Choice *
this is not yet another book on Wittgenstein. It is a commentary on the Wittgensteinian texts, pre-early, early, middle and later, following a conceptual framework which makes coherent sense of all of them without a programmatic presupposition which might coerce any of them. * Anat Biletzki and Anat Matar, Pragmatics and Cognition *
In the course of tracing the development of Wittgenstein's views on the nature of language and meaning, Stern offers clear and succinct discussions of a variety of difficult areas of Wittgenstein's thought. * Mind *
Shows in unprecedented detail what Wittgenstein's methods of working were like * Fergus Kerr, Heythrop Journal, Vol 40, no 4 October 1999 *
Impressive new book ... pays an uncommon but long over-due amount of attention to Wittgenstein's similies, metaphors, and analogies. ... Stern's book is of great value, not the least in helping us to see where further work on Wittgenstein's methods needs to be done. * Philosophical Psychology, vol.10, no.1, 1997 *
A revolution has been taking place in Wittgenstein studies in the last several years in that the significance of his notebooks and other previously unpublished primary materials for the understanding of his philosophy has slowly been realized and acted on. David Stern is keenly aware of this development, and his book is an important step in implementing it. As a consequence, no matter whether one ultimately agrees with his interpretations, one receives from his book a much more vivid picture of how Wittgenstein's philosophical mind worked than from virtually and other exposition of Wittgenstein's thought. * Jaakko Hintikka, Boston University *
This book is a lucid and engaging account of Wittgenstein's thought....Stern's secrets are diligence, clarity, and impeccable scholarship....Stern gives you a book to make one of the most compelling and unique philosophers your own. * The Toronto Globe and Mail *

ISBN: 9780195080001

Dimensions: 244mm x 162mm x 22mm

Weight: 560g

240 pages