Wittgenstein and the Philosophy of Language
The Legacy of the Philosophical Investigations

This book engages with the later arguments of this major philosopher to examine his significant impact on our understanding of language.

Thomas McNally (Author)

9781107197947, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 August 2017

218 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

Throughout his philosophical development, Wittgenstein was more concerned with language than with any other topic. No other philosopher has been as influential on our understanding of the deep problems surrounding language, and yet the true significance of his writing on the subject is difficult to assess, since most of the current debates regarding language tend to overlook his work. In this book, Thomas McNally shows that philosophers of language still have much to learn from Wittgenstein's later writings. The book examines the finer details of his arguments while also clarifying their importance for debates outside the field of Wittgenstein studies. Presenting the issues thematically (as they relate to questions of reference, scepticism about meaning, and the social dimension of language, among others), the book explores how the arguments in the Philosophical Investigations remain relevant, compelling us to reflect in novel and challenging ways on the nature of language.

Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. Reference
2. The normativity of meaning
3. Scepticism about meaning
4. The social dimension of language
5. Metaphilosophy and the philosophy of language
6. Meaning and use
Conclusion
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy: logic [HPL], Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge [HPK], Non-Western philosophy [HPD], Western philosophy, from c 1900 - [HPCF], Philosophy [HP]