Wittgenstein's Whewell's Court Lectures: Cambridge, 1938 - 1941, from the Notes by Yorick Smythies

ISBN-13: 9781119166337 / Angielski / Twarda / 2017 / 392 str.

Ritter, Bernhard

Opis

Wittgenstein s Whewell s Court Lectures contains previously unpublished notes from lectures given by Ludwig Wittgenstein in Cambridge between 1938 and 1941. These notes by Yorick Smythies (1917 1980), a pupil and close friend of the philosopher s, include some of the finest examples of Wittgenstein s lectures, offering new insight into the development of Wittgenstein s thought and shedding light on the man behind the philosophy.  Though the notes elaborate upon many topics familiar from Wittgenstein s work, such as necessary propositions, knowledge, belief, voluntariness, and freedom of the will, they often break new ground by recounting Wittgenstein s thoughts on authors about whom there is little to be found in his  other work. In addition to the work of Russell, Moore and James, Smythies records Wittgenstein s discussion of Gödel s theorems, W. E. Johnson, and Hume s account of belief. The lectures also underline the importance of imagery and pictures in Wittgenstein s approach to philosophy, with new passages examining the famous metaphor of the fly in the fly–bottle and seventy blackboard drawings copied by Smythies. 

Wittgenstein s Whewell s Court Lectures contains previously unpublished notes from lectures given by Ludwig Wittgenstein between 1938 and 1941.

Recenzje

A blessing for Wittgenstein fans and scholars alike. [It covers] a wide range of interesting topics, often in greater depth or with more subtlety than in his writings. And for this blessing a great debt is owed to the editors. These editions are true labors of love. – James C. Klagge, Philosophy (Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy).

Spis treści

Preface ix

Editorial Introduction xiv

List of Editorial Conventions xx

Abbreviations xxii

WHEWELL S COURT LECTURES, CAMBRIDGE 1938 1941 1

1 Lectures on Knowledge 6
Easter Term 1938

2 Lectures on Necessary Propositions and Other Topics 50
Easter Term 1938

Lectures on Gödel 50

Puzzle of Trinity College 57

Necessary Propositions 62

Continuation. (Notes taken by J.C.T.) 72

Absolutely Determinate 74

Continuous Band of Colours 76

Are There an Infinite Number of Shades of Colour? 77

All There : Logical Necessity 78

Achilles and the Tortoise 82

Infinitesimal Calculus and Free Will 83

3 Lectures on Similarity 88
Michaelmas Term 1939

4 Lectures on Description 137
Lent Term 1940

5 Wittgenstein s Reply to a Paper by Y. Smythies on Understanding 190
Lent Term 1940

6 Lectures on Belief 203
Easter Term 1940

7 Lectures on Volition 254
Michaelmas Term 1940

8 Lectures on Freedom of the Will 282
Lent Term 1941

Appendix 297

9 Y. Smythies 1940 Paper on Understanding 300

10 Preparatory Notes for Y. Smythies 1945 Paper on Meaning 308

11 The King of the Dark Chamber, by Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the English of Rabindranath Tagore into the English used 327
L. Wittgenstein and Yorick Smythies

12 Comments Prompted by the Notes Taken From Wittgenstein s Lectures on Volition and on Freewill 336
Y. Smythies

Bibliography 348

Index 000

O autorze

Volker A. Munz is Assistant Professor at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. He is the editor of Language and World (with Klaus Puhl and Joseph Wang, 2010), Mind, Language and Action (with Daniele Moyal–Sharrock and Annalisa Coliva, 2015), the author of Satz und Sinn. Bemerkungen zur Sprachphilosophie Wittgensteins (2005), as well as numerous essays.

Bernhard Ritter is University Assistant at the University of Klagenfurt. He has published articles on Kant and Wittgenstein and is the author of the forthcoming Kant and Post–Tractarian Wittgenstein: Transcendentalism, Idealism, Illusion.

Blurb

"These notes, taken by one of Wittgenstein′s most faithful pupils between 1938 and 1941, succeed in providing readers with a rich and vivid picture of Wittgenstein as a lecturer, and in supplementing our knowledge of his thought. Munz and Ritter have done an excellent job by presenting these notes in a very legible format and supplying a vast quantity of pertinent information in an admirably economic fashion. This outstanding volume is an extremely welcome addition to the field of Wittgenstein studies."

Joachim Schulte, Universität Zürich

"All Wittgenstein scholars, and many others too, will be indebted to Volker Munz and Bernhard Ritter for their first rate editorial work on Smythies extensive notes of Wittgenstein′s Whewell Court lectures. The editorial decisions are judicious and the scholarly apparatus is impeccable. The detailed lecture notes vividly convey the style of Wittgenstein′s delivery, the intensity of his thinking, the spontaneity of his responses to questions, and the occasional flashes of wit. These shed invaluable light on the interpretation of Wittgenstein′s own writings"

P.M.S. Hacker, St John′s College, University of Oxford

Wittgenstein′s Whewell′s Court Lectures contains previously unpublished notes from lectures given by Ludwig Wittgenstein in Cambridge between 1938 and 1941. These notes by Yorick Smythies (1917 1980), a pupil and close friend of the philosopher′s, include some of the finest examples of Wittgenstein′s lectures, offering new insight into the development of Wittgenstein′s thought and shedding light on the man behind the philosophy.

Though the notes elaborate upon many topics familiar from Wittgenstein′s work, such as necessary propositions, knowledge, belief, voluntariness, and freedom of the will, they often break new ground by recounting Wittgenstein′s thoughts on authors about whom there is little to be found in his other work. In addition to the work of Russell, Moore, and James, Smythies records Wittgenstein′s discussion of Gödel′s theorems, W. E. Johnson, and Hume′s account of belief. The lectures also underline the importance of imagery and pictures in Wittgenstein′s approach to philosophy, with new passages examining the famous metaphor of the fly in the fly–bottle and seventy blackboard drawings copied by Smythies.