James Conant

A spectator of the passing philosophical scene, recently encountering the current controversy about “resolute readings” of the Tractatus, might be forgiven for finding it difficult to figure out what the debate is supposed to be about and who exactly is on which side and why. This chapter demonstrates, through a reconstruction of some relevant features of “the” debate, that at one point there are in fact several orthogonal debates taking place, confusedly cast as contributions to a single debate. It indicates some of the respects in which the term “resolute reading” has come to acquire different meanings, and sometimes even a different logic. The chapter traces the shifts in the meaning of the term “resolute reading” and the related family of cognate and contrastive expressions. Cora Diamond and James Conant are often presented as the main proponents of a “resolute reading” of the Tractatus.

Am Beispiel des Films „Lady in the Lake” führt der Aufsatz Aspekte vor, die die Welt eines Films auszeichnen. „Lady in the Lake”, argumentiert der Autor, scheitert in fundamentaler Hinsicht daran, ein Film zu sein. Bei der Beschreibung dieses Scheiterns werde deutlich, was einen Film ausmache. Der Kern des Scheiterns bestehe darin, dass es „Lady in the Lake” nicht gelinge, dem Zuschauer die Erfahrung einer visuellen Absorption zu ermöglichen. Dadurch, dass die Schauspieler im Film den Zuschauer direkt adressieren, unterminieren sie das Vermögen des Zuschauers, sie als Figuren wahrzunehmen, die die narrative Welt eines Films bewohnen

This paper argues that Wittgenstein, both early and late, rejects the idea that the logically simpler and more fundamental case is that of “the mere sign” and that what a meaningful symbol is can be explained through the elaboration of an appropriately supplemented conception of the sign: the sign plus something (say, an interpretation or an assignment of meaning). Rather the sign, in the logically fundamental case of its mode of occurrence, is an internal aspect of the symbol. The Tractatus puts this point as follows: “The sign is that in the symbol which is perceptible by the senses.” Conversely, this means that it is essential to a symbol – to what a symbol is – that it have an essentially perceptible aspect. For Wittgenstein there is no privileged direction of explanatory priority between symbol and sign here: without signs there are no symbols (hence without language there is no thought) and without some sort of relation to symbols there are no signs (hence the philosopher’s concept of the supposedly “merely linguistic” presupposes an internal relation to symbols).

1. Kierkegaard on saying and showing. The paper explores certain parallels between Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript and Wittgenstein's Tractatus. The following five parallels appear to exist between these two works: both draw a distinction between sense and nonsense; both distinguish between what can be said and what can only be shown; both aspire to show what cannot be said by drawing limits to what can be said; both end by retracting themselves; both imply that silence is the only correct form of answer to certain questions they pose. I argue that the standard interpretation of each of these works has them inside out: a proper understanding of parallels and reveals both works to be concerned with undermining a doctrine of ineffability. I try to show that although parallels , , and depend upon a misreading of these works they, too, are nevertheless connected to deep and interesting genuine parallels in the respective philosophical undertakings of these two authors. ;2. Nietzsche's perfectionism. Nietzsche has been read as advancing a form of perfectionism in both moral and political philosophy. I argue against the standard reading of Nietzsche as defending some form of moral or political elitism. The argument is based on a careful examination of Nietzsche's third Untimely Meditation--a text frequently drawn upon to support an extreme elitist interpretation of Nietzsche. I go on to suggest that Nietzsche's views are, nonetheless, aptly characterized as perfectionist in certain respects and that they represent a striking development of certain strains of perfectionist thought that have been either widely neglected or prematurely dismissed in contemporary moral and political philosophy. ;3. The James/Royce Debate on the theory of truth. The paper argues that to understand William James' mature views one needs to situate his writing within the polemical context of the period in which he wrote and, in particular, to view his development against the background of his ongoing dialogue with Josiah Royce. I outline three successive arguments Royce deploys in an attempt to show that James' pragmatic theory of truth is self-refuting. I argue that the pressure these arguments exert on James leads him to develop a more nuanced and original form of pragmatism than has hitherto generally been appreciated