Oxford University Press

This volume collects P. M. S. Hacker's papers on Wittgenstein and related themes written over the last decade. Hacker provides comparative studies of a range of topics--including Wittgenstein's philosophy of psychology, conception of grammar, and treatment of intentionality--and defends his own Wittgensteinian conception of philosophy.

A. C. Grayling's accessible introduction to Wittgenstein's work describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought.

Thirteen leading contributors offer new essays in honour of the eminent philosopher and Wittgenstein scholar Peter Hacker. They discuss issues in the interpretation of Wittgenstein, investigate central topics in the history of analytic philosophy, and explore and assess Wittgensteinian ideas about language, mind, action, ethics, and religion.

Gordon Graham presents a bold new account of Wittgenstein's philosophy, which argues for its relevance to the study of religion and aims to revitalize the philosophy of 'true religion'. He uses Wittgenstein's conception of philosophy to argue in favour of the idea that 'true religion' is to be understood as human participation in divine life.

What is the meaning of the word `grace'? Terrance W. Klein suggests that Wittgenstein's maxim that the meaning of a word is its usage can help to explicate the claims that Christians have made about grace. Klein proposes that grace is not an occult object but a noetic event, the moment when we perceive God to be active on our behalf.

Wittgenstein in America is a collection of essays exploring the legacy of Wittgenstein's work in contemporary American philosophy. The contributors (including several eminent philosophers) take a variety of approaches to Wittgenstein; they discuss such topics as rule-following, realism about mathematics, the method of the Tractatus, the relation between style and content in Wittgenstein, and his distinction between sense and nonsense. Wittgenstein is discussed in relation to subsequent philosophers such as Quine and Kripke. This will be essential reading for specialists in Wittgenstein, and will interest many other philosophers besides.

Oskari Kuusela explores Wittgenstein's account of logic in the context of the history of analytic philosophy. He presents Wittgenstein as developing the logical-philosophical approaches of his contemporaries and credits him with resolving the long-standing dispute between the ideal language and ordinary language schools of analytic philosophy.

Mathieu Marion offers a careful, historically informed study of Wittgenstein's philosophy of mathematics. This area of his work has frequently been undervalued by Wittgenstein specialists and philosophers of mathematics alike; but the surprising fact that he wrote more on this subject than any other indicates its centrality in his thought. Marion traces the development of Wittgenstein's thinking from the 1920s through to the 1950s, in the context of the mathematical and philosophical work of the times, to make coherent sense of ideas that have too often been misunderstood because they have been presented in a disjointed and incomplete way. He shows that study of Wittgenstein's writings on mathematics is essential to a proper understanding of his philosophy, and also that it can do much to illuminate current debates about the foundations of mathematics.

Mathieu Marion traces the development of Wittgenstein's thinking from the 1920s through to the 1950s, in the context of the mathematical and philosophical work of the time, making sense of ideas that have often been misunderstood. He shows that study of Wittgenstein's writings on mathematics is essential to a proper understanding of his philosophy.