Philosophy 186b

A course of close reading and detailed discussion of central parts of Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. The aim is to understand Wittgenstein’s later work and its philosophical significance by responding as directly and as sympathetically as possible to the problems and lines of thought presented in that book. Some other works of Wittgenstein and some interpretative commentary will be consulted occasionally, but the focus throughout will be on that book. Because the book embodies a conception of philosophy as a certain kind of activity, the goal of the course is to encourage philosophical reflection and engagement by everyone through careful attention to the text, active participation in back-and-forth classroom discussion. The course is meant to be as much as possible an exercise in doing philosophy, not just commentary on a philosophical work.