- Department: Philosophy
- Module co-ordinator: Prof. Thomas Baldwin
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2020-21
- See module specification for other years: 2019-20
Wittgenstein’s philosophical writings are among the most striking and influential contributions to philosophy from the 20th century. This module will provide an opportunity for students to engage in critical study of his most important writings.
Occurrence | Teaching cycle |
---|---|
A | Spring Term 2020-21 |
The aims of the module are to enable students to develop:
(i) A critical understanding of Wittgenstein’s major philosophical writings – especially Tractatus, Philosophical Investigations, and On Certainty.
(ii) An appreciation of the significance of Wittgenstein’s contribution to philosophy during the 20th century, especially to the development of analytic philosophy.
Students will have the opportunity to engage with the work of the most creative and thoughtful philosopher of the 20th century whose ideas continue to enter into discussions in many central areas of philosophy, most notably philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. In the course of his writings Wittgenstein developed a distinctive conception of philosophy, and by the end of the module students should be in a position to assess this conception in the light of their own experience of studying philosophy.
Provisional programme
Week 2: Frege, Russell, and the programme of the Tractatus
Week 3: Logic and representation; modality, showing and saying
Week 4: Philosophy and analysis; the return to Vienna and Cambridge
Week 6: The new programme – the Big Typescript and the Blue Book
Week 7: Meaning, use and truth; Rule-following
Week 8: Sensations, 1st person priority and the critique of psychology
Week 9: On Certainty; Philosophy, Culture and Value
Note that although there are no prerequisites for the module, some familiarity with logic and philosophy of language would be helpful.
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
None
Task | Length | % of module mark |
---|---|---|
Essay/coursework Essay |
N/A | 100 |
Feedback on a formative essay will be provided in a meeting during Week 5, and feedback on an essay plan will be provided during a meeting in Week 10. Feedback on the summative essay will be provided within four weeks.
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Philosophical Investigations
On Certainty