Informed by silence
Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. Philosophy Bibliography: leaves 168-173 Wittgenstein in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus seeks to demonstrate the activity of purging from philosophical and scientific discourse all expressions of thought that are not stated clearly in a wa...
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ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses4/134562 2023-05-15T17:23:33+02:00 Informed by silence Paddock, Jeff, 1963- Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Philosophy. 2000 iii, [ii], 173 leaves Image/jpeg; Application/pdf http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/134562 Eng eng Electronic Theses and Dissertations (17.68 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Paddock_Jeff.pdf a1522240 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/134562 The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries Wittgenstein Ludwig 1889-1951--Tractatus logico-philosophicus Logic Symbolic and mathematical Language and languages--Philosophy Text 2000 ftmemorialunivdc 2015-08-06T19:22:36Z Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. Philosophy Bibliography: leaves 168-173 Wittgenstein in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus seeks to demonstrate the activity of purging from philosophical and scientific discourse all expressions of thought that are not stated clearly in a way that allows their veracity to be determined through truth-functional analysis; however, he concedes the language in which he expresses this project falls short of his standard for acceptable discourse and therefore cannot define his project didactically. This apparent contradiction has fostered both criticisms and interpretations of the Tractatus. The critic Gellner on this ground dismisses the text as meaningless while Feibleman faults Wittgenstein for denying rather than embracing the metalanguage the Tractatus employs along with its metaphysical implications. Those reinterpreting Wittgenstein's project read into the Tractatus elements he expressly rejects: Kantians such as Pears, the synthetic a priori and a transcendental standpoint; phenomenologists such as Black, reflexivity; and semiotical analysts such as Brown, a triadic rather than gapless dyadic relation of world, language and meaning. Nieli's and Edwards' presentations expose Wittgenstein's predilection for the ineffable truths of religion, ethics and esthetics for which the Tractatus clears a space in limiting sensible discourse to propositions of natural science. In this light, one must take seriously Wittgenstein's rejection of the metaphysical discourse the Tractatus employs, thereby allowing what Wittgenstein leaves to silence to inform debates regarding criticisms and reinterpretations based on what are clearly false readings of the Tractatus as a metaphysical treatise: in other words, letting the message of what he does not say show what is not meant by what he does say. As Marion demonstrates, Wittgenstein's idea -that one can never say what philosophy is but can only do it - is expressed and evolves during Wittgenstein's lifetime in his treatment of mathematics as anti-Platonist constructivism employing operations without classes. Following through on the radical implications of this approach, Wittgenstein abandons his Tractarian belief in a solitary pure transformational language of scientific discourse in favour of multitudinous ordinary language games. Wittgenstein's final anti-standpoint leaves him vulnerable to charges his approach is nonrational and mystical. Text Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) |
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English |
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Wittgenstein Ludwig 1889-1951--Tractatus logico-philosophicus Logic Symbolic and mathematical Language and languages--Philosophy |
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Wittgenstein Ludwig 1889-1951--Tractatus logico-philosophicus Logic Symbolic and mathematical Language and languages--Philosophy Paddock, Jeff, 1963- Informed by silence |
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Wittgenstein Ludwig 1889-1951--Tractatus logico-philosophicus Logic Symbolic and mathematical Language and languages--Philosophy |
description |
Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. Philosophy Bibliography: leaves 168-173 Wittgenstein in his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus seeks to demonstrate the activity of purging from philosophical and scientific discourse all expressions of thought that are not stated clearly in a way that allows their veracity to be determined through truth-functional analysis; however, he concedes the language in which he expresses this project falls short of his standard for acceptable discourse and therefore cannot define his project didactically. This apparent contradiction has fostered both criticisms and interpretations of the Tractatus. The critic Gellner on this ground dismisses the text as meaningless while Feibleman faults Wittgenstein for denying rather than embracing the metalanguage the Tractatus employs along with its metaphysical implications. Those reinterpreting Wittgenstein's project read into the Tractatus elements he expressly rejects: Kantians such as Pears, the synthetic a priori and a transcendental standpoint; phenomenologists such as Black, reflexivity; and semiotical analysts such as Brown, a triadic rather than gapless dyadic relation of world, language and meaning. Nieli's and Edwards' presentations expose Wittgenstein's predilection for the ineffable truths of religion, ethics and esthetics for which the Tractatus clears a space in limiting sensible discourse to propositions of natural science. In this light, one must take seriously Wittgenstein's rejection of the metaphysical discourse the Tractatus employs, thereby allowing what Wittgenstein leaves to silence to inform debates regarding criticisms and reinterpretations based on what are clearly false readings of the Tractatus as a metaphysical treatise: in other words, letting the message of what he does not say show what is not meant by what he does say. As Marion demonstrates, Wittgenstein's idea -that one can never say what philosophy is but can only do it - is expressed and evolves during Wittgenstein's lifetime in his treatment of mathematics as anti-Platonist constructivism employing operations without classes. Following through on the radical implications of this approach, Wittgenstein abandons his Tractarian belief in a solitary pure transformational language of scientific discourse in favour of multitudinous ordinary language games. Wittgenstein's final anti-standpoint leaves him vulnerable to charges his approach is nonrational and mystical. |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Philosophy. |
format |
Text |
author |
Paddock, Jeff, 1963- |
author_facet |
Paddock, Jeff, 1963- |
author_sort |
Paddock, Jeff, 1963- |
title |
Informed by silence |
title_short |
Informed by silence |
title_full |
Informed by silence |
title_fullStr |
Informed by silence |
title_full_unstemmed |
Informed by silence |
title_sort |
informed by silence |
publishDate |
2000 |
url |
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/134562 |
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Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
op_source |
Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries |
op_relation |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (17.68 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Paddock_Jeff.pdf a1522240 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/134562 |
op_rights |
The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. |
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1766113320199258112 |