The Literary Wittgenstein

Front Cover
John Gibson, Wolfgang Huemer
Psychology Press, 2004 - 356 pages

The Literary Wittgenstein is a stellar collection of articles relating the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) to core problems in the theory and philosophy of literature.
Amid growing recognition that Wittgenstein's philosophy has important implications for literary studies, this book brings together twenty-one articles by the most prominent figures in the field. Eighteen of the articles are published here for the first time.
The Literary Wittgenstein applies the approach of Wittgenstein to core areas of literary theory, including poetry, deconstruction, the ethical value of literature, and the nature and logic of fictional discourse. The literary dimension of Wittgenstein's own writings is also explored, such as the authorial strategy of the Tractatus, and writing and method in the Philosophical Investigations. Major literary figures discussed in the book include William Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, and Friedrich Hölderlin.
By mapping out the foundations of a new approach to literature, The Literary Wittgenstein is essential reading for anyone interested in the relevance and application of Wittgenstein's thought to literary theory, aesthetics, and the philosophy of language and logic.

From inside the book

Contents

The Investigations everyday aesthetics of itself
21
But isnt the same at least the same? Wittgenstein and the question of poetic translatability
34
Wittgensteins imperfect garden the ladders and labyrinths of philosophy as Dichtung
55
Restlessness and the achievement of peace writing and method in Wittgensteins Philosophical Investigations
75
Imagined worlds and the real one Plato Wittgenstein and mimesis
92
Reading for life
109
Reading with Wittgenstein
125
Introduction to Having a rough story about what moral philosophy is
127
Literature and the boundaries of self and sense
209
Rotating the axis of our investigation Wittgensteins investigations and Holderlins poetology
211
Autobiographical consciousness Wittgenstein private experience and the inner picture
228
Monologic and dialogic Wittgenstein Heart of Darkness and linguistic skepticism
251
Wittgenstein and Faulkners Benjy reflections on and of derangement
267
Fiction and the Tractatus
289
Facts and fiction reflections on the Tractatus
291
Wittgensteins Tractatus and the logic of fiction
305

Having a rough story about what moral philosophy is
133
The life of the sign Wittgenstein on reading a poem
146
Wittgenstein against interpretation the meaning of a text does not stop short of its facts
165
On the old saw every reading of a text is an interpretation some remarks
186
The larger view
319
Unlikely prospects for applying Wittgensteins method to aesthetics and the philosophy of art
321
Index
347
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