(The) plays of John Galsworthy --

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 1931. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Nel tempo e nello spazio. Linguaggio e natura nella filosofia di Ludwig Wittgenstein

The paper focuses on some naturalistic aspects of Wittgenstein’s later philosophy. Wittgenstein has often been considered a radical anti-naturalist philosopher, mainly because he does not endorse the thesis of the continuity between philosophy and science. However, it will be argued that Wittgenstein’s later philosophy incorporates a kind of naturalism without naturalization, i.e., a liberal naturalism, in virtue of the relation between human nature and language. It will be concluded that Wittgenstein’s liberal naturalism provides an example of a naturalistic perspective on language which avoids the limits of an intellectualist approach without leading to scientism: this is meant to express the irreducibility of naturalism to the mere scientific version

WHERE THE SPADE TURNS: AN ANALYSIS OF WITTGENSTEIN\u27S CONCEPT OF THE FORM OF LIFE

This dissertation addresses the fact that a number of contemporary philosophers have undergone radical reversals regarding the issue of foundations. They initially posited atemporal, nonhistorical, unchanging grounds of language, thought, and meaning only to move eventually in the direction of positions which have been labelled relativistic and anthropocentric. The dissertation considers Wittgenstein\u27s position regarding foundations in his two periods, focusing upon the later period. In both periods, there is a predominant form which structures langauage, experience, and the world. In the later works, one moves from logical space to lived space, from logical form to form of life. Arguing that the form of life is considered finally to be the foundation of language, thought, and meaning and recognizing that commentaries fail to consider this concept exhaustively in the broad context of the later works, the dissertation offers an extensive analysis of the concept and its philosophic implications. It considers possible antecedents to the concept in the Tractatus and critically considers a number of interpretations offered by commentators. A detailed consideration of the origin of the term, its emergence in Wittgenstein\u27s works and related concepts in the later works leads to the conclusion that Wittgenstein offers a two fold account of the form of life. Failure to recognize this leads to confusion and misunderstanding of his position. The dissertation considers the issue of foundations in light of the concept of the form of life. Rather than breaking with a philosophic tradition, Wittgenstein\u27s consideration of foundations both links him to this tradition and at the same time heralds a new philosophic beginning. The shift in position regarding foundations is explored through the shift of imagery from bedrock to riverbed. It is argued that Wittgenstein\u27s account of the form of life as rendered in the dissertation leads to a new understanding of foundations which does allow for accounts of justification and objectivity. It is argued that Wittgenstein\u27s account of the form of life does not lead to extreme positions of relativism and conventionalism as commentators such as Trigg and Dummett have maintained. A thorough explanation of the concept and its implications exonerates Wittgenstein of such charges

Women and public policy.

xv, 213 p. ; 23 cm