Historical Dictionary of Wittgenstein's Philosophy covers the life and work of Ludwig Wittgenstein as well as the people who have worked on Wittgenstein's ideas after his death. An introductory essay, list of acronyms and abbreviations, chronology, hundreds of dictionary entries, and extensive bibliography make this an engaging reference source for students and scholars alike.
Focusing on Elizabeth Anscombe's contributions to ethics, this book provides an accessible introduction to her moral philosophy while critically examining her perspectives on various topics, including the bombing of Hiroshima, same-sex marriage, consequentialism, moral obligation, and intention. It offers insights into her influential ideas and their implications for contemporary ethical discussions.
Wittgenstein's work is notoriously difficult to understand and, at least superficially, deals almost exclusively with obscure and technical problems in logic and the philosophy of language. He once asked rhetorically: "What is the use of philosophy ... if it does not improve your thinking about the important questions of everyday life?". This book explains how Wittgenstein's idea of the value of philosophy shaped his philosophical method and led him to talk and write about the abstruse questions he dealt with in most of his work. This is not just another introductory overview of Wittgenstein's philosophy. It is one of the few that provide such an overview while also referring constantly to ethics and religion. Moreover, its interpretation of Wittgenstein is far from orthodox, as standard treatments of his work disregard or downplay his claims about what he was doing and why. Duncan Richter takes him at his word, showing the connections between Wittgenstein's aims, the various subjects he worked on (psychology, religion, aesthetics, etc.), and the way in which he worked on them.