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Wittgenstein
In Wittgenstein's Way of Seeing , Judith Genova provides a an illuminating introduction to two surprisingly neglected aspects of his his conception of philosophy and his search for a style to embody his revolutionary practice. Genova examines the nuances, contours, and texture of logical twists of language. She elucidates Wittgenstein's reliance on the work of Kant and Freud, and presents how words are acts for Wittgenstein.
- GenresPhilosophy
244 pages, Paperback
First published November 6, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 22, 2024
AN INTERPRETATION OF WITTGENSTEIN'S DIFFERENT "WAYS OF SEEING" IN PHILOSOPHY
Judith Genova is a professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at The Colorado College. She has also written 'Power Gender Values.'
She wrote in the Preface of this 1995 book, "Unfortunately, the labyrinthine character of Wittgenstein's thought makes it impossible to follow only one thread... Wittgenstein's writing styles further complicate the problem of understanding him... After suffering this squeeze for twenty years, I came to the conclusion that there is no one, final presentation of his thought, but a variety of arrangements, some more perspicuous than others. In this effort, I target his concept of philosophy and show how everything else falls into place around it." (Pg. xvi-xvii)
She noted about her own quotes of Wittgenstein, "I have graphically marked [by use of boldface text] his use of masculine pronouns to underscore the point that not all native speakers or philosophers are men." (Pg. xiii)
She begins the first chapter with the statement, "A good way to begin dispersing the fog obscuring Wittgenstein's use of a perspicuous representation is to compare it with his more primitive form of account in the Tractatus... The main link between these two ways of seeing is the concept of a ... `form of representation.' ... a perspicuous representation remains a kind of `net' for describing reality. And for the Tractatus, everything depends on finding the right net. With the proper net, he claimed, one can describe the world completely. His sensitivity to painting and music was the foundation for this idea; a visual or musical idea is so perfectly wedded to its embodiment ... that one is not expressible without the other. If philosophy could find an equally suitable net, it too could achieve perfect expression." (Pg. 27)
She says, "One may summarize Wittgenstein's first philosophical position in four themes: activity, clarification, transformation, silence. First and foremost philosophy is an activity, not a body of doctrine. One DOES philosophy... it is a praxis, not a poesis or a theoria. The very expression `doing philosophy' which everyone uses today originates with Wittgenstein." (Pg. 105-106)
She observes, "The years Wittgenstein spent teaching schoolchildren reminded him that language does not spring full-grown from the mouths of babes; rather, language requires training. One is taught a language, and with that teaching one is born into a form of life, a way of seeing and doing things. Both the syntax and semantics of language work to orient us in a world." (Pg. 119)
This book contains some interesting and novel interpretations of Wittgenstein, and will be of keen interest to persons wanting to go further into his philosophy.
Judith Genova is a professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at The Colorado College. She has also written 'Power Gender Values.'
She wrote in the Preface of this 1995 book, "Unfortunately, the labyrinthine character of Wittgenstein's thought makes it impossible to follow only one thread... Wittgenstein's writing styles further complicate the problem of understanding him... After suffering this squeeze for twenty years, I came to the conclusion that there is no one, final presentation of his thought, but a variety of arrangements, some more perspicuous than others. In this effort, I target his concept of philosophy and show how everything else falls into place around it." (Pg. xvi-xvii)
She noted about her own quotes of Wittgenstein, "I have graphically marked [by use of boldface text] his use of masculine pronouns to underscore the point that not all native speakers or philosophers are men." (Pg. xiii)
She begins the first chapter with the statement, "A good way to begin dispersing the fog obscuring Wittgenstein's use of a perspicuous representation is to compare it with his more primitive form of account in the Tractatus... The main link between these two ways of seeing is the concept of a ... `form of representation.' ... a perspicuous representation remains a kind of `net' for describing reality. And for the Tractatus, everything depends on finding the right net. With the proper net, he claimed, one can describe the world completely. His sensitivity to painting and music was the foundation for this idea; a visual or musical idea is so perfectly wedded to its embodiment ... that one is not expressible without the other. If philosophy could find an equally suitable net, it too could achieve perfect expression." (Pg. 27)
She says, "One may summarize Wittgenstein's first philosophical position in four themes: activity, clarification, transformation, silence. First and foremost philosophy is an activity, not a body of doctrine. One DOES philosophy... it is a praxis, not a poesis or a theoria. The very expression `doing philosophy' which everyone uses today originates with Wittgenstein." (Pg. 105-106)
She observes, "The years Wittgenstein spent teaching schoolchildren reminded him that language does not spring full-grown from the mouths of babes; rather, language requires training. One is taught a language, and with that teaching one is born into a form of life, a way of seeing and doing things. Both the syntax and semantics of language work to orient us in a world." (Pg. 119)
This book contains some interesting and novel interpretations of Wittgenstein, and will be of keen interest to persons wanting to go further into his philosophy.
April 28, 2008
fabulous Wittgenstein theory book, really helped me understand what was only vaguely perceptible when reading his books at first
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews