DownloadThe Portobello Bookshop Gift Guide 2024

Wittgenstein and Democratic Politics

Language, Dialogue and Political Forms of Life

Thomas Wallgren editor Anat Biletzki editor Lotar Rasiński editor Alois Pichler editor Leszek Koczanowicz editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:28th Oct '24

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Wittgenstein and Democratic Politics cover

This volume demonstrates how Wittgenstein’s philosophy can illuminate our understanding of politics and open new ways of conceptualizing democratic theory and practice. Its focus is on language, reason and communication as central to identifying present confusions in our understanding of democracy.

The book seeks to engage Wittgenstein’s philosophical insights, aiming to go beyond the dichotomous oppositions and conceptual entanglements pervading existing frameworks of social and political theories of democracy. Its key topic is the irreplaceable role of dialogue in civic democratic engagement as a condition for the understanding of self and others and, hence, for political life in which reason has a role. Indeed, it presents concrete examples of how Wittgenstein can be constructively applied to current political discourse. Part I of the volume focuses on the general idea of applying Wittgenstein’s philosophy to political and democratic theory and explains the deep and intrinsic relation between Wittgenstein’s thought and politics. Part II discusses Wittgenstein’s concrete concepts as illuminating for understanding selected aspects of democratic politics. Part III deals with a possible exchange between Wittgenstein and other political thinkers, especially Hannah Arendt.

Wittgenstein and Democratic Politics will appeal to researchers and advanced students working on Wittgenstein’s philosophy, political philosophy and democratic theory.

“This important new book gathers together an international line-up of scholars to reflect upon the relevance of one of the twentieth century’s greatest philosophers, Ludwig Wittgenstein, to contemporary concerns about democracy. Every one of the chapters of the book is an original piece, and the book as a whole is a multi-aspect, sustained examination of Wittgenstein’s relevance to contemporary problems of democracy.”

Robert Vinten, Universidade Nova, Lisbon, Portugal

“The work of Ludwig Wittgenstein continues to influence the education of political theorists and the discourse of contemporary political theory. This volume offers an excellent selection of contributions both to our understanding of how to deploy Wittgenstein’s ideas on language, and how Wittgenstein’s philosophy illuminates features of democratic theory and theorizing.”

Christopher C. Robinson, Clarkson University, USA

ISBN: 9781032778891

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 771g

316 pages