Wittgenstein on 'Private' Language and Sensations

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Level: 
Master's
CEU credits: 
2
ECTS credits: 
4
Academic year: 
2009/2010
Semester: 
Winter
Start and end dates: 
22 Feb 2010
Co-hosting Unit(s) [if applicable]: 
Department of Philosophy
Academic Program: 
Master of Arts in Philosophy
CEU Instructor(s): 
Hanoch Ben-Yami
Assessment : 
Term paper. Students need to have the subject of their essay approved by the end of term.
Full description: 

Recommended General Readings

Some general introductions to Wittgenstein's philosophy or to the Philosophical Investigations are:

  • Kenny, A., Wittgenstein (Penguin Books 1973).
  • Lugg, A., Wittgenstein’s Investigations 1-133: A Guide and Interpretation (Routledge 2004).
  • McGinn, M., Wittgenstein and the Philosophical Investigations (Routledge 1997).
  • Schroeder, S., Wittgenstein: The Way Out of the Fly-bottle (Polity Press 2006)

Students who have little if any acquaintance with Wittgenstein's philosophy would do well to consult some of these before or during the course.
     The most detailed commentary on the sections we are going to read is:

  • Hacker, P., Wittgenstein: Meaning and Mind. Volume 3 of an Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, Parts I (essays) and II (exegesis) (Blackwell 1993).

Another helpful book:

  • Glock, H-J., A Wittgenstein Dictionary (Blackwell 1996).

Breakdown into units

As this is a close-reading course, I just intend to read as far as we get, and how fast we proceed will be to a large extent determined by the level of participation of students.