Wittgenstein's Lasting Significance

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) has exerted a more powerful influence on contemporary philosophy than any other twentieth-century thinker. But what is the nature of this influence and why has it proved so enduring? In "Wittgenstein's Lasting Significance," twelve contemporary philosophers explore the issues surrounding Wittgenstein's importance and relevance to modern thought. Their articles, ten of which are published here for the first time, cover all of Wittgenstein's major publications: the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus," "Philosophical" "Investigations," "On Certainty," and "Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics." They discuss how much originality and continuity can be found in Wittgenstein's thought, how he relates to current traditions and movements within philosophy, and what we can learn from his conceptions of language, knowledge, mathematics and logic. The international set of contributors are renowned for their work in both Wittgenstein studies andother fields of philosophy, making "Wittgenstein's Lasting Significance" an important collection for anyone interested in contemporary philosophy.

Max Kolbel is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, and the author of Truth Without Objectivity (Routledge, 2002). Bernhard Weiss is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cape Town, and the author of Michael Dummett (2002).

Contributors Introduction 1. Nonsense and Cosmic Exile: The Austere Reading of the Tracatus What is the Tracatus About? 2. On Reading the Tracatus Resolutely: Reply to Meredith Williams and Peter Sullivan 3. Wittgenstein's Metaphilosophical Development 4. Wittgenstein and the Life of Signs 5. Wittgenstein as Soil 6. Immodesty Without Mirrors: Making Sense of Wittgenstein's Linguistic Pluralism 7. Wittgenstein's Remarks on Godel's Theorem 8. Scepticism, Certainty, Moore and Wittgenstein 9. Wittgenstein, Truth and Certainty 10. A Second Wave of Enlightenment: Kant, Wittgenstein and the Continental Tradition Wittgenstein Bibliography