Introductory description

The proposed module aims to fill a significant lacuna in our current teaching of 20th century philosophy, by introducing students to some of the central concerns of Wittgenstein’s later philosophy, spanning the philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind and action, epistemology, ethics, anthropology and the philosophy of religion.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Lecture Schedule

Week 1.
The Augustinian picture of meaning

Week 2.
Meaning and Use

Week 3.
Understanding and Rule-Following

Week 4.
The Possibility of a Private Language

Week 5.
Aspect Perception

Week 6. No lectures

Week 7.
The First Person

Week 8.
Certainty

Week 9.
Rituals

Week 10.
Ethics and Religion

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• interpret Wittgestein's later writings in the context of the later Wittgenstein's general approach to philosophical problems.
• understand the significance of central questions to which Wittgenstein's later philosophy is addressed, including questions about the nature of meaning, mind, normativity and certainty.
• make sense of the later Wittgenstein's central ideas and arguments concerning such topics as meaning, mind, normativity and certainty .
• engage critically with Wittgenstein's (and his commentators') claims.

Indicative reading list

L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, tr. by G.E.M. Anscombe, Oxford: Blackwell, 1953.
L. Wittgenstein, Philosophical Occasions 1912-1951, Indianapolis and Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, 1993.
W. Child, Wittgenstein. London: Routledge, 2011.
W. Goldfarb, ‘I Want You to Bring Me a Slab: Remarks on the Opening Sections of the" Philosophical Investigations’, Synthese 57 (1983), 265-282.
B. Stroud, Meaning, Understanding and Practice: Philosophical Essays. Oxford: OUP, 2000.
J. McDowell, ‘Wittgenstein on following a rule’, Synthese 58 (1984), 325-363.
M. McGinn, The Routledge Guidebook to Wittgenstein's Philosophical investigations. London: Routledge, 2013.
O. Kuusela & M. McGinn (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Wittgenstein. Oxford: OUP, 2011.
M. Luntley, Opening Investigations. Oxford: Blackwell, 2015.
S. Kripke, Wittgenstein on Rules and Private Language, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1982.

Subject specific skills

(i) The ability to understand philosophical issues and arguments that figure in the background to contemporary work.
(ii) The ability to critically engage with philosophical ideas and arguments;
(iii) The ability to articulate philosophical issues and arguments;
(iv) The ability to read historical philosophical texts, including an ability to understand and explain technical philosophical vocabulary from these historical texts, an awareness of debates about the historical context of these texts, and of debates about interpretation of certain key terms.

Transferable skills

(i) The ability to communicate information (verbally and in written form) to people both expert and non-expert in the field.
(ii) The ability to analyse, evaluate, critique and apply complex information gathered from reading, reflection, reasoning or communication.
(iii) The ability to effectively manage schedules and deadlines.