Ethics in the Wake of Wittgenstein (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory)

This book brings together essays from leading scholars who, rather than taking a strictly exegetical approach, attempt to show how discussions in moral philosophy can benefit from Wittgenstein's later philosophical work. The essays in this volume make the argument that Wittgenstein's relevance for moral philosophy depends not only on his views about ethics, but also on the methods he introduces, on his views on the nature of philosophy and philosophical problems, and on the insights into language developed in his philosophy. They also focus on the 'Wittgensteinian tradition' in moral philosophy and its relation to more mainstream analytic moral philosophy, addressing how several prominent philosophers use these ideas and methods in their work. Ethics in the Wake of Wittgenstein seeks to answer the following question: Can we apply Wittgenstein's ways of dealing with problems in logic, philosophy of language, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of mathematics to moral philosophy as well? It will be of interest to Wittgenstein scholars and those working on current debates in moral philosophy, metaethics, and normative ethics. This book brings together essays from leading scholars who, rather than taking a strictly exegetical approach, attempt to show how discussions in moral philosophy can benefit from Wittgenstein's later philosophical work. The essays in this volume make the argument that Wittgenstein's relevance for moral philosphy depends not only on his views about ethics, but also on the methods he introduces, on his views on the nature of philosophy and philosophical problems and on the insights into language developed in his philosophy. They also focus on the "Wittgensteinian tradition" in moral philosophy and its relation to more mainstream analytic moral philosophy, addressing how several prominent philosophers us these ideas and methods in their work. Ethics in the Wake of Wittgenstein seeks to answer the following question: can we apply Wittgenstein's way of dealing with problems in logic, philosophy of language, epistemology, philosophy of mind and philosophy of mathematics to moral philosophy as well? It will be of interest to Wittgenstein scholars and those working on current debates in moral philosophy, meta-ethics and normative ethics. -- [page i] Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Abbreviations of Wittgenstein’s Works 8 Introduction 10 1 Logical-Linguistic Method in Moral Philosophy: Resolving Problems From Iris Murdoch and Bernard Williams With Wittgenstein 26 2 Moral Concepts, “Natural Facts” and Naturalism: Outline of a Wittgensteinian Moral Philosophy 56 3 Boundless Nature: Virtue Ethics, Wittgenstein and Unrestricted Naturalism 72 4 Between Tradition and Criticism: The “Uncodifiability” of the Normative 93 5 Rule-Following, Moral Realism and Non-Cognitivism Revisited 112 6 Are Moral Judgements Semantically Uniform? A Wittgensteinian Approach to the Cognitivism–Non-Cognitivism Debate 135 7 Truth in Ethics: Williams and Wiggins 158 8 Reasons to Be Good? 189 9 Hitting Moral Bedrock 205 10 Our Fellow Creatures 229 11 Comments on a Contested Comparison: Race and Animals 242 12 The Ethical and the Political in the Dilemma of Winch’s Vere 265 Notes on Contributors 286 Index 290 This book features essays from leading scholars who, rather than taking a strictly exegetical approach, show how discussions in moral philosophy can benefit from Wittgenstein's later philosophical work.