Summary
Summary Hacker - Philosophical Method notes
- Module
- Wittgenstein
- Institution
- Oxford University (OX)
Notes on Hacker's writing on philosophical method
[Show more]
Content preview
Peter Hacker - Insight and Illusion: Themes in the Philosophy of WittgensteinChapter Six: Wittgenstein’s Later Conception of Philosophy
1. A Kink in the Evolution of Philosophy
● There are significant similarities in Wittgenstein’s earlier and later conceptions of
philosophy, but also differences
○ Wittgenstein saw his method as the creation of a new subject, beyond
philosophy
■ it was no longer a cognitive pursuit, as it has been for
● Plato - philosophy concerned with
eternal truths about abstract objects
● Descartes - concerned with the study of
the foundations of all sciences
● Russell - philosophy as continuous with
the natural sciences
● British empiricists - investigation into
the essential nature of the human mind, to clarify the extent of the
possibility of human knowledge
● Kant - investigation into the conditions
of the possibility of experience which would yield knowledge of truths
■ For W, there are no philosophical propositions and no
philosophical knowledge
● philosophy does not aim at
accumulating fresh knowledge, like science
○ hence it cannot be the
foundation upon which science rests
● the Empiricist idea that, in order to keep
scepticism at bay, we must have self-certifying indubitable knowledge is
a Cartesian myth
○ scepticism must be
shown to be nonsense, rather than answered with positive theory
● philosophy is concerned with the bounds
of sense by not with the synthetic apriori truths that describe them (as
with Kant)
■ Wittgenstein saw past philosophies as casting ‘norms of
representation in the role of objects represented’
● i.e. seeing features of the grammar of
representation as essential truths about the reality we represent through
language
● thus past philosophies are not false, but
nonsensical
■ Wittgenstein also rejected the idea that philosophy
should construct an ideal language
● in the Tractatus he claimed that the idea
that natural languages were defective was absurd, and that the idea that a
better/logically more perfect one could be created was ridiculous
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller patrickfleming. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £3.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
66579 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now