The Unity of Wittgenstein's Philosophy: Necessity, Intelligibility, and Normativity (Suny Series in Philosophy) [Paperback]

Jose Medina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2002 | Series: Suny Series in Philosophy

Explores the stable core of Wittgenstein's philosophy as developed from the Tractatus to the Philosophical Investigations.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Exposing the myth of the two Wittgensteins, this book provides a detailed account of the unity in Wittgenstein's thought from the Tractatus to the Philosophical Investigations. Unlike recent interpretations in the literature, this account is not the story of the unfolding of a single view, but instead the story of an ongoing conversation and its internal logic. Throughout his career, Wittgenstein argued that philosophical problems about the necessary and the impossible, on the one hand, and about the meaningful and the nonsensical, on the other, might be dissolved by means of an elucidation of ordinary language use. This approach always relied on the same strategy, namely contextualism. He identified decontextualization as the main source of philosophical confusion and argued that philosophical understanding consists of situating concepts in the normative contexts in which they function. This critical reconstruction contributes to the understanding of Wittgenstein's philosophy and illuminates contemporary debates concerning necessity, intelligibility, and the normativity of language. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

José Medina is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (July 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 079145388X
• ISBN-13: 978-0791453889
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,631,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For a Limited Audience, September 27, 2006

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Reader From Aurora - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unity of Wittgenstein's Philosophy: Necessity, Intelligibility, and Normativity (Suny Series in Philosophy) (Paperback)

Published in 2002, The Unity of Wittgenstein's Philosophy by Jose Medina examines the development of Wittgenstein's thought from the Tractatus to the Philosophical Investigations.

Despite the writing being a bit awkward the book does a solid job of presenting the chronological development of Wittgenstein thoughts regarding a range of concepts including language games and rule following. Indeed, I found the book somewhat helpful in clarifying and connecting different aspects of Wittgenstein's work. That said, the publisher's claim that Medina exposes the myth of two Wittgenstein's is overstated marketing hyperbole.

Overall, although not a bad effort, I think the book has a fairly limited audience. On the one hand a level of background knowledge is required for the text to be of interest. While on the other hand, a detailed knowledge of Wittgenstein makes it redundant.