The Unity of Wittgensteinªs Philosophy: Necessity, Intelligibility, and Normativity (Suny Series in Philosophy)

"Exposing the myth of "the two Wittgensteins, this book provides a detailed account of the unity in Wittgenstein's thought from the Tractatus to the Philosophical Investigations. Unlike recent interpretations in the literature, this account is not the story of the unfolding of a single view, but instead the story of an ongoing conversation and its internal logic. Throughout his career, Wittgenstein argued that philosophical problems about the necessary and the impossible, on the one hand, and about the meaningful and the nonsensical, on the other, might be dissolved by means of an elucidation of ordinary language use. This approach always relied on the same strategy, namely contextualism. He identified decontextualization as the main source of philosophical confusion and argued that philosophical understanding consists of situating concepts in the normative contexts in which they function. This critical reconstruction contributes to the understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophy and illuminates contemporary debates concerning necessity, intelligibility, and the normativity of language."--Jacket

Until recently, Wittgenstein's two main works-the Tractatus and the Investigations-were seen as representing two radically different philosophies. Here Medina (philosophy, Vanderbilt U.) aims to demonstrate the internal logic of Wittgenstein's thought throughout his career. He argues that there is a strong methodological unity in Wittgenstein's treatments of the interrelated themes of necessity and intelligibility. The text is based upon the author's dissertation (Northwestern U., 1998). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

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Until recently, Wittgenstein's two main worksthe and the were seen as representing two radically different philosophies. Here Medina (philosophy, Vanderbilt U.) aims to demonstrate the internal logic of Wittgenstein's thought throughout his career. He argues that there is a strong methodological unity in Wittgenstein's treatments of the interrelated themes of necessity and intelligibility. The text is based upon the author's dissertation (Northwestern U., 1998). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

By José Medina. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 221-225) And Index. Jos Medina is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.