PHIL 311 Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) is a central figure in the two most important philosophical traditions of the twentieth century: First the attempt early in the century to characterize language thought and the world in terms of the newly available formalism of modern logic and second the attempt to show that any such formalization will fail to do justice to the rich complexity of language as a form of life a form inseparable from the social and historical context from which it springs. We will examine two principal works the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the Philosophical Investigations. There will also be some treatment of the historical and philosophical context of Wittgenstein's work and life.