A Central Issue: The Inventive Phase of Wittgenstein's Philosophy
What are the most fruitful contributions of Wittgenstein's philosophy?
L. Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is an Austrian philosopher who investigates language, words and meaning. He left the tremendous insights contained within his posthumous works, centrally Philosophical Investigations. Wittgenstein's method in Philosophical Investigations is called as “philosophical therapy”. This is philosophical activity to elicit unconscious assumptions by examining particular language-uses and wordings.
I argue that what Wittgenstein has done is not only to uncover presuppositions, but also excavate/reveal the multifarious aspects of words. What I hope to do is to elicit the inventive and creative phase of Wittgenstein's philosophy.
L. Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is an Austrian philosopher who investigates language, words and meaning. He left the tremendous insights contained within his posthumous works, centrally Philosophical Investigations. Wittgenstein's method in Philosophical Investigations is called as “philosophical therapy”. This is philosophical activity to elicit unconscious assumptions by examining particular language-uses and wordings.
I argue that what Wittgenstein has done is not only to uncover presuppositions, but also excavate/reveal the multifarious aspects of words. What I hope to do is to elicit the inventive and creative phase of Wittgenstein's philosophy.
My Approach: Focusing on Wittgenstein's Own Method
Wittgenstein can unfold the multifarious aspects of words by paraphrasing.
The multifarious aspects of words are the ‘behaviors’ of words in particular circumstances, contexts, and tones of voices. For example, a word “water” is understood as asking for a drink, as a label of package, and so on. There is no fixed meaning of words. We ordinarily see various behaviors of words and distinguish them in particular cases. However, we (philosophers) tend to fix the behavior of a word. We are apt to treat a word as having a regular role and behavior from fixed standpoint.
Wittgenstein, as a therapist, treats our inclination to fix the behavior of words. He offers varying aspects of words which philosophers are apt to ignore. His method is to paraphrase philosophical terms. For instance, from: “rule”, “grammar”; to “agreement”, “forms of life”. The word “meaning” is paraphrased as “use”. In this paraphrasing, Wittgenstein does not reduce “rule” and “meaning” to something akin to empirical facts, but also provides hints to understand words such as “rule” and “meaning” as more richer and freer than simply being anchored to a fixed standpoint.
The multifarious aspects of words can be imaginable and fictional (see Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Psychology). Wittgenstein creates new concepts of language used by Martians, animals, and primitive people. These imaginable concepts can dissolve our prejudice that language must be necessarily defined in one essential way, as ‘such and such’.
The multifarious aspects of words are the ‘behaviors’ of words in particular circumstances, contexts, and tones of voices. For example, a word “water” is understood as asking for a drink, as a label of package, and so on. There is no fixed meaning of words. We ordinarily see various behaviors of words and distinguish them in particular cases. However, we (philosophers) tend to fix the behavior of a word. We are apt to treat a word as having a regular role and behavior from fixed standpoint.
Wittgenstein, as a therapist, treats our inclination to fix the behavior of words. He offers varying aspects of words which philosophers are apt to ignore. His method is to paraphrase philosophical terms. For instance, from: “rule”, “grammar”; to “agreement”, “forms of life”. The word “meaning” is paraphrased as “use”. In this paraphrasing, Wittgenstein does not reduce “rule” and “meaning” to something akin to empirical facts, but also provides hints to understand words such as “rule” and “meaning” as more richer and freer than simply being anchored to a fixed standpoint.
The multifarious aspects of words can be imaginable and fictional (see Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Psychology). Wittgenstein creates new concepts of language used by Martians, animals, and primitive people. These imaginable concepts can dissolve our prejudice that language must be necessarily defined in one essential way, as ‘such and such’.
My Goal: Wittgenstein's Philosophy as Self-Clarification
I propose that Wittgenstein's philosophy is a prolific system of self-clarification.
Wittgenstein developed a philosophy in which he reflected himself, on his own perspectives. His perspectives transformed from one which was narrow and fixed to one that is open and flexible. Let us call his development as “self-clarification”.
I focus on Wittgenstein's form of self-clarification. In self-clarification, he focuses on the invisible aspects of words. There are many unseen aspects of words when a person has a fixed standpoint. Wittgenstein illuminates various aspects of words, in this way he obtains fresh viewpoints to re-consider and revise one's “old” way of viewing matters.
Wittgenstein developed a philosophy in which he reflected himself, on his own perspectives. His perspectives transformed from one which was narrow and fixed to one that is open and flexible. Let us call his development as “self-clarification”.
I focus on Wittgenstein's form of self-clarification. In self-clarification, he focuses on the invisible aspects of words. There are many unseen aspects of words when a person has a fixed standpoint. Wittgenstein illuminates various aspects of words, in this way he obtains fresh viewpoints to re-consider and revise one's “old” way of viewing matters.