Bertrand Russell claimed that Ludwig Wittgenstein was "perhaps the most perfect example I have ever known of genius as traditionally conceived-passionate, profound, intense, and dominating." Wittgenstein's two masterpieces, the
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus and the Philosophical Investigations, stand like
opposing poles around which schools of twentieth-century analytic philosophy
revolve. The Wittgenstein of the Tractatus is known as the "earlier Wittgenstein," the Wittgenstein of the Investigations is known as the "later Wittgenstein."
This tutorial is an intensive, line-by-line study of the Investigations-one of the
greatest (and thus, one of the most controversial) books in the history of philosophy. Aside from its overwhelming influence on late-twentieth-century philosophy and intellectual culture, any book which contains the remark, "if a lion could
talk, we could not understand him," deserves serious attention.
Format: weekly one-hour meetings of a tutorial pair with the instructor. Requirements: bi-weekly tutorial papers (totaling 6 per student); bi-weekly oral responses to the paper of the tutorial partner.
Prerequisites: at least 3 courses in philosophy, of which Philosophy102 is required; Philosophy 103 and Philosophy 289 are highly recommended. Enrollment limit: 10 (expected: 10). Preference given to majors, prospective majors,
and students firmly committed to the course.