Wittgenstein and Perception

by Michael Campbell (Editor), Michael O'Sullivan (Editor)

Throughout his career, Wittgenstein was preoccupied with issues in the philosophy of perception. Despite this, little attention has been paid to this aspect of Wittgenstein's work. This volume redresses this lack, by bringing together an international group of leading philosophers to focus on the impact of Wittgenstein's work on the philosophy of perception. The ten specially commissioned chapters draw on the complete range of Wittgenstein's writings, from his earliest to latest extant works, and combine both exegetical approaches with engagements with contemporary philosophy of mind. Topics covered The book also includes an overview which summarises the evolution of Wittgenstein's views on perception throughout his life. With an outstanding array of contributors, Wittgenstein and Perception is essential reading for students and scholars of Wittgenstein’s work, as well as those working in philosophy of mind and philosophy of perception. Yasuhiro Arahata, Michael Campbell, William Child, Daniel Hutto, Michael O’Sullivan, Marie McGinn, Michel terHark, Charles Travis, and José Zalabardo.

194 pages, Hardcover

First published February 25, 2015

Reviews

[Craig Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A collection of essays unpicking the subtleties of perception - is it intentional or not? Having just finished Consciousness and Language, I was a bit bored with the arguments. For a serious, perhaps academic, student of Philosophy, there would be a richer soil to dig into here, but for me, it was denuded. I do enjoy reading about Wittgenstein - he was one of the odd set in Vienna, tangential to the main Circle for much of his life, a scion of the wealthiest man in Europe at the time. He fought internal demons and external friends alike, battling intellectually with Russell, and supposedly physically with Karl Popper. So my rating of Two Stars doesn't reflect on Ludwig, but more on the writings of others about him. Perhaps the seventh and final line in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus shall have the last word:

"Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent."