Wittgenstein in the 1930s : between the 'Tractatus' and the 'Investigations'

Wittgenstein's 'middle period' is often seen as a transitional phase connecting his better-known early and later philosophies. The fifteen essays in this volume focus both on the distinctive character of his teaching and writing in the 1930s, and on its pivotal importance for an understanding of his philosophy as a whole. They offer wide-ranging perspectives on the central issue of how best to identify changes and continuities in his philosophy during those years, as well as on particular topics in the philosophy of mind, religion, ethics, aesthetics, and the philosophy of mathematics. The volume will be valuable for all who are interested in this formative period of Wittgenstein's development. Copyright 5 Walking with Wittgenstein 6 Contents 8 Contributors 10 Abbreviations 13 Introduction: Wittgenstein between the Tractatus and the Investigations / David G. Stern 16 1. The “Middle Wittgenstein” 16 2. Wittgenstein’s Teaching and Writing in the 1930s 18 3. Debates over the “Middle Wittgenstein” 21 4. Wittgenstein’s Influences in the 1930s 27 5. The Chapters in This Volume 30 I. Changes and Continuities in Wittgenstein’s Philosophy 32 II. Philosophy of Mind 35 III. Religion, Ethics, and Aesthetics 36 IV. Philosophy of Mathematics 38 Part I Changes and Continuities in Wittgenstein's Philosophy 40 1 Wittgenstein and Moore on Grammar / David G. Stern 42 1. Introduction 42 2. Wittgenstein’s Calculus Conception of Grammar in the Early 1930s 43 3. Moore’s Paper and Wittgenstein’s Reply 49 4. Wittgenstein’s Second Thoughts about Grammar 52 2 Wittgenstein on Understanding: Language, Calculus, and Practice / Alois Pichler 60 1. The Argument between the Calculus and the Anthropological Approach 60 2. Understanding in The Big Typescript and Wittgenstein’s 1930–1933 Lectures 65 3. Univocity in Wittgenstein’s 1930–1933 Lectures and the Relevance of Attention to Form in Middle Wittgenstein’s Writings 72 3 Wittgenstein on Sentence-Hypotheses and Certainty / Mauro L. Engelmann 76 1. The Path to “Phenomenological Grammar” 76 2. “Hypothetical” and “Logical Structure of Hypotheses” 80 3. On Certainty 83 4. What Comes Next 90 4 Wittgenstein on Meaning, Use, and Linguistic Commitment / Anna Boncompagni 92 1. Introduction 92 2. Linguistic Commitment in Wittgenstein’s Notes and Lectures, 1930 92 3. Commitment and the Eingreifen of Words 97 4. Misleading Pictures 100 5. What Resurfaces in Later Years 104 6. Conclusion 106 5 Will There Soon Be Skilful Philosophers? Wittgenstein on Himself, His Work, and the State of Civilization in 1930 / Wolfgang Kienzler 108 1. A Puzzle 108 2. Moore’s Original Notes 111 3. The Background and Sources: Spengler 113 4. The Background and Sources: Schlick 114 5. The Continuation of the Lecture 116 6. The Next Step: Writing Toward a Preface 117 7. Another Way to React to the Passage 118 8. How the Misunderstanding Happened and how It Spread 119 9. More Talk of Method 120 6 Wittgenstein and His Students: 1929–1933 / James C. Klagge 124 Part II Philosophy of Mind 138 7 From Moore’s Lecture Notes to Wittgenstein’s Blue Book: The Emergence of Wittgenstein’s Performative Conception of the Self / Hans Sluga 140 1. 140 2. 141 3. 143 4. 144 5. 145 6. 150 7. 153 8 “Two Kinds of Use of ‘I’”: The Middle Wittgenstein on “I” and the Self / William Child 156 1. The 1933 Lectures: Two “Utterly Different” Uses of “I” 158 2. The Blue Book: The Use of “I” as Subject and the Use of “I” as Object 165 9 Wittgenstein on Rules and the Mental / Volker A. Munz 173 1. Introduction 173 2. Rules, Reality, and Arbitrariness 175 3. Rules and Descriptions of Human Behavior 177 4. Rules and Experience: Having Toothache 179 5. My Pain and Her Pain 183 Part III Religion, Ethics, and Aesthetics 190 10 Wittgenstein’s Discussion of “Use of Such a Word as ‘God’” / Anat Biletzki 192 1. Introduction 192 2. The Context(s) 192 a. The General Context 192 b. A “Middle Wittgenstein” on Religion 194 c. The Conventional Wisdom on Wittgenstein on Religion 196 d. Religion and Ethics, Religion and Aesthetics 198 3. The Text 199 a. The Method of Religion in Moore’s Notes 199 b. The Grammar of Religion in Moore’s Notes 201 c. Religion and Frazer 205 4. A Somewhat Conclusion 207 11 Wittgenstein on Ethics, May 1933 / Duncan Richter 209 1. 209 2. 211 3. 213 4. 220 5. Conclusion 221 12 Wittgenstein on Aesthetic Normativity and Grammar / Hanne Appelqvist 224 1. Philosophy and Aesthetics in the Tractatus 224 2. “Propaganda for a Descriptive Method, rather than an Explanatory” (M, 9:6) 227 3. “Aesthetics Is ‘Descriptive’ in Sense I Said” (M, 9:23) 231 13 Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Aesthetics and Their Context / Joachim Schulte 239 1. Spengler and All That 239 2. A Question: Why Aesthetics in the Context of Frazer and Freud? 244 3. A Cautionary Answer: Reasons vs. Causes 245 4. A (Very Brief) Programmatic Answer: the Morphological Approach 249 5. Conclusion 251 Part IV Philosophy of Mathematics 254 14 Moore’s Notes and Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics: The Case of Mathematical Induction / Warren Goldfarb 256 15 Wittgenstein, Goodstein, and the Origin of the Uniqueness Rule for Primitive Recursive Arithmetic / Mathieu Marion and Mitsuhiro Okada 268 1. Introduction 268 2. From Mathematical Induction to the Uniqueness Rule 270 3. A Brief Look at the Tractatus 274 4. Wittgenstein’s Lecture, May 20, 1932 278 5. A Possible Misunderstanding 281 6. Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics in the Middle Period 284 Bibliography 287 Index 305 The Aim Of This Collection Of Fifteen Previously Unpublished Essays Is Not Only To Provide A Wide Range Of Fresh Perspectives On Wittgenstein's Philosophical Writing And Teaching During His So-called Middle Period (roughly 1929-1936), But Also To Make The Case For Its Interest And Importance For Our Understanding Of His Philosophy As A Whole. The Exact Dating Of This Stage Of His Work Is Itself Debatable, Precisely Because It Is Understood As Picking Out The Years After He Began To Rework His Early Philosophy, As Set Out In The Tractatus, And Before He Had Arrived At The Definitive Formulation Of His Later Philosophy In The Philosophical Investigations. For Present Purposes, We Can Regard It As Beginning With Wittgenstein's Return To Cambridge, And Full-time Philosophical Writing, In Early 1929, And Ending In Late 1936, When He Drafted An Early Version Of The Investigations-- Wittgenstein And Moore On Grammar / David G. Stern -- Wittgenstein On Understanding : Language, Calculus, And Practice / Alois Pichler -- Wittgenstein On Sentence-hypotheses And Certainty / Mauro L. Engelmann -- Wittgenstein On Meaning, Use, And Linguistic Commitment / Anna Boncompagni -- Will There Soon Be Skilful Philosophers? Wittgenstein On Himself, His Work, And The State Of Civilization In 1930 / Wolfgang Kienzler -- Wittgenstein And His Students : 1929-1933 / James C. Klagge -- From Moore's Lecture Notes To Wittgenstein's Blue Book / Hans Sluga -- 'two Kinds Of Use Of 'i'' : The Middle Wittgenstein On I And The Self / William Child -- Wittgenstein On Rules And The Mental / Volker A. Munz -- Wittgenstein's Discussion Of Use Of Such A Word As 'god' / Anat Biletzki -- Wittgenstein On Ethics, May 1933 / Duncan Richter -- Wittgenstein On Aesthetic Normativity And Grammar / Hanne Appelqvist -- Wittgenstein's Remarks On Aesthetics And Their Context / Joachim Schulte -- Moore's Notes And Wittgenstein's Philosophy Of Mathematics : The Case Of Mathematical Induction / Warren Goldfarb -- Wittgenstein, Goodstein, And The Origin Of The Uniqueness Rule For Primitive Recursive Arithmetic / Mathieu Marion And Mitsuhiro Okada. Edited By David G. Stern (university Of Iowa). Includes Bibliographical References (pages 272-289) And Index. Wittgenstein's 'middle period' is often seen merely as a transitional phase connecting his better-known early and later philosophies. These essays focus on both the distinctive character of his teaching and writing in the 1930s, and its pivotal importance for an understanding of his philosophy as a whole.