A Macat Analysis of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations

De: Michael O'Sullivan

Narrado por: Macat.com

Duración: 1 h y 42 m

Resumen del Editor

In Philosophical Investigations, the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein presents a radical approach to problems in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. In fact, he sets out a radically new conception of philosophy itself. Published in 1953, two years after Wittgenstein's death, many still consider it one of the finest works of 20th century philosophy.

Wittgenstein begins from the insight that most philosophical problems trace back to incorrect assumptions about the nature of language. So meaning, he claims, can be extracted by investigating how people truly use language and how those uses differ between communities and cultures.

While previous works in the field typically described a philosophical problem, addressed various approaches, and debated solutions, Wittgenstein takes the unique approach of treating philosophy not as a theory, but as an activity. Rather than debate abstract problems, Wittgenstein urges philosophers to concern themselves with ordinary life and the concrete situations in which humans find themselves.

You can find out more about how Ludwig Wittgenstein's ideas have been challenged and applied - and how his work has impacted on thinkers in other academic disciplines - by exploring further in the Macat Library.

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The readers Wisconsin(?) accent is distracting

This was a good synopsis (although I was expecting more analysis). However, the readers accent was odd and distracting for me personally and I kept snickering at her pronunciation of words instead of focusing on their contextual meaning (This complaint is, interestingly, in somewhat line with the content of the book itself).

Disappointing

Repetitive. The 'module' format is meaningless and doesn't allow for any development of concepts or ideas, instead fostering a repetitive style where you hear the reiteration of clichés about the book's 'great influence' on 20th century analytical philosophy, but no explanation of what that means in the context of the discipline as a whole. Superficial and truncated insights into how Wittgenstein relates to important disciplines such as sociology and anthropology and his influence on well-known theorists such as Bourdieu. The narrative stops at saying "Wittgenstein has been influential" and doesn't not take that idea any further in any meaningful way.