Wittgenstein on Thought and Will [Hardcover]

This book examines in detail Ludwig Wittgensteins ideas on thought, thinking, will and intention, as those ideas developed over his lifetime. It also puts his ideas into context by a comparison both with preceding thinkers and with subsequent ones. The first chapter gives an account of the historical and philosophical background, discussing such thinkers as Plato, Descartes, Berkeley, Frege and Russell. The final chapter looks at the legacy of, and reactions to, Wittgenstein. These two chapters frame the central three chapters, devoted to Wittgensteins ideas on thought and will. Chapter 2 discusses the sense in which both thought and will represent, or are about, reality; Chapter 3 considers Wittgensteins critique of the picture of an inner process , and the role that behaviour and context play in his views on thought and will; while Chapter 4 centres on the question What sort of thing is it that thinks or wills? , in particular examining Wittgensteins ideas concerning the first person ( I ) and concerning statements like I am thinking or I intend to do X .

1. The Philosophical Context  2. Thought, Will and World  3. The Inner and the Outer  4. The Subject: Grammar vs. Metaphysics  5. Aftermath and Legacy

This is a charming and lively book. It sustains the balance of wit, absurdity and seriousness that pervades Wittgensteins later thought and characterises the work of his more sensitive interpreters ... [It] provides an extraordinarily clear and useful overview of Western philosophys dealings with thinking and willing and will be useful to student and teacher alike.  Rachael Wiseman in the Nordic Wittgenstein Review

[This book] would make an excellent basis for a course on Wittgenstein that wanted especially to see how Wittgensteins works relates to, differs from, and might correct the work of other philosophers  both those lS*