Insight and Illusion: Themes in the Philosophy of Wittgenstein (Rev. Ed.)

Widely regarded as the best single-volume study of Wittgenstein's philosophy, Insight and Illusion is a thoroughly comprehensive examination of the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought from the Tractatus to his later "mature" phase. Since the first publication of Insight and Illusion in 1972, a wealth of Wittgenstein's writings has become accessible. Accordingly, in this edition Professor Hacker has rewritten six of his eleven original chapters and revised the others to incorporate the new abundant material. Insight and Illusion now fully clarifies the historical backgrounds of Wittgenstein's highly differing masterpieces, the Tractatus and the Investigations, and traces the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought. Hacker explains all of Wittgenstein's writings in detail, focusing on his critique of metaphysics, his famous "private language argument" and his account of self consciousness. Background -- The 'preliminary' On Philosophy -- Philosophy And Illusion -- Philosophy As Critique And As Analysis -- Agreements And Disagreements -- The Grundgedanke Of The Tractatus -- The Laws Of Logic -- A Prelude To Conventionalism -- The Picture Theory Of Meaning -- The Metaphysics Of The Tractatus -- Connecting Language With Reality: The Role Of The Mind -- The Self Of Solipsism -- I Am My World' -- 'the Limits Of Language Mean The Limits Of My World' -- Later Years -- The Colour-exclusion Problem -- Dismantling The Tractatus -- The Brouwer Lecture -- Moving Off In Fresh Directions -- The Vienna Circle And Wittgenstein's Principle Of Verification -- A Kink In The Evolution Of Philosophy -- A Cure For The Sickness Of The Understanding -- Philosophy, Science, And Description -- Philosophy And Ordinary Language -- The Phenomenology And Sources Of Philosophical Illusion -- Systematic Philosophy -- Grammar -- The Autonomy Of Grammar -- Grammar And Metaphysics -- A Note On Kant And Wittgenstein -- Introduction -- From Transcendental Solipsism To Methodological Solipsism -- The Solipsist's Predicament: A Restatement And Second Diagnosis -- The Refutation -- A Disease Of The Intellect -- Following Rules -- Philosophical Rules -- Philosophical Investigations §243 -- The Private Language -- The Epistemology Of The Private Linguist -- Wittgenstein's Criticism Of The Private Language -- 'only I Know' And 'only I Have' -- Can One Know That One Is In Pain? -- Self-consciousness: The Overthrow Of The Cartesian Picture -- The 'inner' And The 'outer' -- Experience And Its Natural Expression -- Avowels And Descriptions -- Objections And Deflections -- The Origin Of The Idea -- Plottng The Contour-lines -- Further Complications -- Red Herrings: Realism And Anti-realism. P.m.s. Hacker. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Since the first publication of Insight and Illusion in l972, a wealth of Wittgenstein's writings have become accessible. Accordingly, in this edition Professor Hacker has rewritten six of his eleven original chapters and revised the others to incorporate the new abundant material. Insight and Illusion now fully clarifies the historical backgrounds of Wittgenstein's highly different masterpieces, the Tractatus and the Investigations, and traces the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought. Hacker explains all of Wittgenstein's writings in detail, focusing on his critique of metaphysics, his famous "private language argument," and his account of self-consciousness.

Since the first publication of Insight and Illusion in l972, a wealth of Wittgenstein's writings has become accessible. Accordingly, in this edition Professor Hacker has rewritten six of his eleven original chapters and revised the others to incorporate the new abundant material.Insight and Illusion now fully clarifies the historical backgrounds of Wittgenstein's highly differing masterpices, the Tractatus and the Investigations, and traces the evolution of Wittgenstein's thought. Hacker explains all of Wittgenstein's writings in detail, focusing on his critique of metaphysics, his famous "private language argument," and his account of self consciousness. Since the first edition in 1972, a wealth of Wittgenstein's writings has become accessible. This revised edition incorporates much new material and extensive changes and re-evaluations. An examination of Wittgenstein's thought from "Tractatus" to his later "mature" phase. This text is a reprint of the corrected second edition which includes extensive revisions.