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416The subject of this paper is not Wittgensteinian ethics but Wittgenstein’s own ethical beliefs, specifically as these are revealed in the so-called Koder diaries. While the Koder Diaries, also known as Manuscript 183, do contain the kind of thing that one would expect to find in a diary (e.g. accounts of travel and personal relationships), they also contain more obviously philosophical remarks, sometimes as reflections on these personal remarks. Wittgenstein’s diaries illustrate well a point th…Read more
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95Wittgensteinian foundationalismErkenntnis 55 (3). 2001.The idea that there is such a thing as Wittgensteinian foundationalism is a provocative one for two reasons. For one thing, Wittgenstein is widely regarded as an anti-foundationalist. For another, the very word `foundationalism' sounds like the name of a theory, and Wittgenstein famously opposed the advancing of theories and theses in philosophy. Nonetheless, in his book Moore and Wittgenstein on Certainty, Avrum Stroll has argued that Wittgenstein does indeed develop a foundationalist view in h…Read more
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61Missing the entire point: Wittgenstein and religionReligious Studies 37 (2): 161-175. 2001.In this paper I contrast some widespread ideas about what Wittgenstein said about religious belief with statements Wittgenstein made about his purposes and method in doing philosophy, in order to argue that he did not hold the views commonly attributed to him. These allegedly Wittgensteinian doctrines in fact essentialize religion in a very un-Wittgensteinian way. A truly Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion can only be a personal process, and there can be no part in it for generalized hypothe…Read more
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59Nothing to be Said: Wittgenstein and Wittgensteinian EthicsSouthern Journal of Philosophy 34 (2): 243-256. 1996.
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48Whose Ethics? Which Wittgenstein?Philosophical Papers 31 (3): 323-342. 2002.The relevance of Wittgenstein for ethics depends on which Wittgenstein we mean. I argue that we should distinguish not only between Wittgenstein's personal opinions and his philosophy, but also, within his philosophical work, between broadly methodological remarks and what Wittgenstein might call genuinely philosophical remarks (which are not about philosophy but try to bring clarity to the mind bewitched by language). Wittgenstein's personal opinions will be considered irrelevant by most philos…Read more
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44Wittgenstein's ‘tractatus’: An introduction, by Alfred Nordmann (review)European Journal of Philosophy 16 (1). 2008.
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42Social Integrity and Private ‘Immorality’ The Hart-Devlin Debate ReconsideredEssays in Philosophy 2 (2): 55-65. 2001.In a debate between tolerance and intolerance one is disinclined to side with intolerance. Nevertheless that, in a sense, is what I want to do in this paper. The particular debate I have in mind is the old one between H.L.A. Hart and Patrick Devlin about the legal enforcement of moral values. It should be noted, though, that the issue has by no means been settled in the minds of many people. The proposed repeal of the British law prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality (a law known as Section…Read more
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42Ethics and Private LanguagePhilosophical Topics 38 (1): 181-203. 2010.There are intriguing hints in the works of Stanley Cavell and Stephen Mulhall of a possible connection between ethics and Wittgenstein’s remarks on private language, which are concerned with expressions of Empfindungen: feelings or sensations. The point of this paper is to make the case explicitly for seeing such a connection. What the point of that is I will address at the end of the paper. If Mulhall and Cavell both know their Wittgenstein and choose their words carefully, which I will take as…Read more
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31Wittgenstein in Exile. By James C. Klagge (review)The European Legacy 17 (6): 848-849. 2012.No abstract
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29Wandering in Wittgenstein’s footsteps (review)The Philosophers' Magazine 56 (56): 106-107. 2012.
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28Review of James C. Klagge, Wittgenstein's Artillery: Philosophy as Poetry, the MIT Press, 2021, Xii + 258 Pp (review)Philosophical Investigations 46 (1): 120-123. 2022.Philosophical Investigations, EarlyView.
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26Rupert Read, Wittgenstein among the Sciences: Wittgensteinian Investigations into the “Scientific Method,” edited by Simon Summers (London: Ashgate, 2012). xvi + 230, price £55.00 hb (review)Philosophical Investigations 36 (3): 279-282. 2013.
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26Rules, magic, and instrumental reason: A critical interpretation of Peter Winch's philosophy of the social studiesPhilosophia 32 (1-4): 435-441. 2005.
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25Subjectivity after Wittgenstein: The Post-Cartesian Subject and the “Death of Man.” (review)The European Legacy 21 (4): 445-446. 2016.
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25Winch on Understanding Other PeoplePhilosophical Investigations 41 (4): 399-417. 2018.This paper aims to identify the main points that Peter Winch makes, or reminders that he offers, about understanding ourselves and others. It would no doubt be possible to construct a theory out of these ideas, but I try to avoid giving the impression that Winch does so. Instead, the most Wittgensteinian approach to the subject is, as Winch does, to describe, remind and thereby clarify, without putting forward any kind of questionable hypothesis. Winch's work brings out the fact that understandi…Read more
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24Philosophy and PoetryEssays in Philosophy 12 (2): 254-272. 2011.Philosophy certainly has connections with science but it is not itself a science. Nor is it literature. But it is related to literature in a way that excessive emphasis on science can obscure. In this paper I defend the rather old-fashioned view that philosophy is essentially linguistic. I also argue, less conventionally, that there is an unavoidable personal aspect to at least some philosophical problems, and in answering them we must speak for ourselves without being able to count on every oth…Read more
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23Book Review of Wittgenstein on Thought and Will by Roger Teichmann (review)Nordic Wittgenstein Review 6 (2): 96-98. 2017.Review of Teichmann, Roger, _Wittgenstein on Thought and Will_. New York/Oxford: Abingdon Books, Routledge 2015.
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22Applying Wittgenstein – by Rupert read (review)Philosophical Investigations 32 (1): 91-95. 2008.No Abstract
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19Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's PhilosophyRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2004.This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy covers the history of this philosophy through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on every aspect of his work.
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19Review of Tim labron, Wittgenstein and Theology (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2009 (9). 2009.
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19The a to Z of Wittgenstein's PhilosophyScarecrow Press. 2010.The A to Z of Wittgenstein's Philosophy is intended for anyone who wants to know more about the philosophy and the life of this enigmatic thinker. The book contains an introductory overview of his life and work, a timeline of the major relevant events in and after his life, an extensive bibliography, and, above all, an A-Z of ideas, people, and places that have been involved in his philosophy and its reception. The dictionary is written with no particular agenda and includes entries on philosoph…Read more
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18Why be good?: a historical introduction to ethicsOxford University Press. 2008.Plato -- Aristotle -- Christianity -- Aquinas -- Hobbes -- Hume -- Kant -- Mill -- Nietzsche -- Virtue after Nietzsche.
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15Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto: by Bryan W. Van Norden, New York, Columbia University Press, 2017, xxvi + 216 pp., $26.00/£20.00The European Legacy 25 (2): 227-229. 2019.Volume 25, Issue 2, February - March 2020, Page 227-229.
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15General truths and the danger of relativism in contextual ethicsPhilosophical Investigations 46 (3): 352-375. 2023.This paper aims at explaining and defending some of Cora Diamond's thinking about the role of a kind of guides to thinking about ethics. Aids to thinking of this type can take a very general form but can also be applied in context‐sensitive ways. Maria Balaska has raised the question whether Diamond manages to avoid relativism. Oskari Kuusela also criticises Diamond, focussing on whether talk of human equality can be said to correspond to reality. I will consider these objections in turn and try…Read more
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12Taking Back Philosophy: A Multicultural Manifesto: by Bryan W. Van Norden, New York, Columbia University Press, 2017, xxvi + 216 pp., $26.00/£20.00 (paper) (review)The European Legacy 25 (2): 227-229. 2020.Volume 25, Issue 2, February - March 2020, Page 227-229.
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Areas of Specialization
Ludwig Wittgenstein |
G. E. M. Anscombe |
Value Theory |
Areas of Interest
Ludwig Wittgenstein |
G. E. M. Anscombe |