Wittgenstein's Whewell's Court Lectures

Cambridge, 1938 - 1941, From the Notes by Yorick Smythies

Yorick Smythies author Bernhard Ritter editor Volker Munz editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:John Wiley & Sons Inc

Published:5th May '17

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

Wittgenstein's Whewell's Court Lectures cover

Wittgenstein’s Whewell’s Court Lectures contains previously unpublished notes from lectures given by Ludwig Wittgenstein between 1938 and 1941. The volume offers new insight into the development of Wittgenstein’s thought and includes some of the finest examples of Wittgenstein’s lectures in regard to both content and reliability.

  • Many notes in this text refer to lectures from which no other detailed notes survive, offering new contexts to Wittgenstein’s examples and metaphors, and providing a more thorough and systematic treatment of many topics
  • Each set of notes is accompanied by an editorial introduction, a physical description and dating of the notes, and a summary of their relation to Wittgenstein’s Nachlass
  • Offers new insight into the development of Wittgenstein’s ideas, in particular his ideas about certainty and concept-formation
  • The lectures include more than 70 illustrations of blackboard drawings, which underline the importance of visual thought in Wittgenstein’s approach to philosophy
  • Challenges the dating of some already published lecture notes, including the Lectures on Freedom of the Will and the Lectures on Religious Belief
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'The book contains twelve chapters. The editors introduce us thoroughly to each and provide detailed information about the sources they have used. They also enrich the text with comments about similar or complementary passages in the Nachlass. . . . There is no doubt a great deal to be learnt from this book by anyone with an interest in Wittgenstein's philosophy.' -- Alois Pichler, Grazer Philosophische Studien 95 (2018) 589-603

“From time to time there is a treasure that emerges from the Wittgenstein chest. This collection of lectures meticulously edited by Volker Munz and Bernhard Ritter actually emerges from the chest of Wittgenstein’s pupil and friend Yorick Smythies.” - Nuno Venturinha, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, December 2019

ISBN: 9781119166337

Dimensions: 231mm x 155mm x 23mm

Weight: 658g

400 pages