Wittgenstein's Whewell's Court Lectures (eBook)

Volker A. Munz is Assistant Professor at the University of Klagenfurt, Austria. He is the editor of Language and World (with Klaus Puhl and Joseph Wang, 2010), Mind, Language and Action (with Daniele Moyal-Sharrock and Annalisa Coliva, 2015), the author of Satz und Sinn. Bemerkungen zur Sprachphilosophie Wittgensteins (2005), as well as numerous essays. Bernhard Ritter is University Assistant at the University of Klagenfurt. He has published articles on Kant and Wittgenstein and is the author of the forthcoming Kant and Post-Tractarian Wittgenstein: Transcendentalism, Idealism, Illusion.

Preface ix

Editorial Introduction xiv

List of Editorial Conventions xx

Abbreviations xxii

Whewell's Court Lectures, Cambridge 1938-1941 1

1 Lectures on Knowledge 6
Easter Term 1938

2 Lectures on Necessary Propositions and Other Topics 50
Easter Term 1938

Lectures on Gödel 50

Puzzle of Trinity College 57

Necessary Propositions 62

'Absolutely Determinate' 74

Continuous Band of Colours 76

Are There an Infinite Number of Shades of Colour? 77

'All There': Logical Necessity 78

Achilles and the Tortoise 82

Infinitesimal Calculus and Free Will 83

3 Lectures on Similarity 88
Michaelmas Term 1939

4 Lectures on Description 137
Lent Term 1940

5 Wittgenstein's Reply to a Paper by Y. Smythies on 'Understanding' 190
Lent Term 1940

6 Lectures on Belief 203
Easter Term 1940

7 Lectures on Volition 254
Michaelmas Term 1940

8 Lectures on Freedom of the Will 282
Lent Term 1941

Appendix 297

9 Y. Smythies' 1940 Paper on 'Understanding' 300

10 Preparatory Notes for Y. Smythies' 1945 Paper on 'Meaning' 308

11 The King of the Dark Chamber, by Rabindranath Tagore, translated from the English of Rabindranath Tagore into the English used by L. Wittgenstein and Yorick Smythies, by L. Wittgenstein and Yorick Smythies 327

12 Comments Prompted by the Notes Taken From Wittgenstein's Lectures on Volition and on Freewill, by Y. Smythies 336

Bibliography 348

Index 351

'The book contains twelve chapters. The editors introduce us thoroughly to each and provide detailed information about the sources they have used. They also enrich the text with comments about similar or complementary passages in the Nachlass. . . . There is no doubt a great deal to be learnt from this book by anyone with an interest in Wittgenstein's philosophy.' -- Alois Pichler, Grazer Philosophische Studien 95 (2018) 589-603

"From time to time there is a treasure that emerges from the Wittgenstein chest. This collection of lectures meticulously edited by Volker Munz and Bernhard Ritter actually emerges from the chest of Wittgenstein's pupil and friend Yorick Smythies." - Nuno Venturinha, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, December 2019