Abstract
Many theorists have focused on Wittgenstein’s use of examples , but I argue that examples form only half of his method. Rather than continuing the disjointed style of his Cambridge Lectures , Wittgenstein returns to the techniques he employed while teaching elementary school . Philosophical Investigations (PI) trains the reader as a math class trains a student—‘by means of examples and by exercises’ (§208). Its numbered passages, carefully arranged, provide a series of demonstrations and practice problems. I guide the reader through one such series, demonstrating how the exercises build upon one another and give us ample opportunity to hone our problem-solving skills . Through careful practice , we learn to pass the test Wittgenstein poses when he claims that something is ‘easy to imagine’ (§19). Whereas other critics have viewed the Investigations as merely a diagnosis of our philosophical delusions, I claim that Wittgenstein also writes a prescription for our disease: Do your exercises.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Following convention, titles for Wittgenstein’s works are abbreviated (CV = Culture and Value, PO = Philosophical Occasions, PI = Philosophical Investigations, WN = Wittgenstein’s Nachlass), with section (§) or page number (p.), with full citation and initials in the References.
References
Baker, G. P., & Hacker, P. M. S. (2005). Wittgenstein: Understanding and meaning, Part II. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Bartley, W. W. (1985). Wittgenstein. LaSalle, IL: Open Court.
Burbules, N. C., & Peters, M. (2001). Ludwig Wittgenstein: 1889-1951. In J. A. Palmer (Ed.), Fifty modern thinkers on education: From Piaget to the present day (pp. 15–23). London: Routledge.
Drury, M. O’. C. (1984). Some notes on conversations with Wittgenstein. In R. Rhees (Ed.), Recollections of Wittgenstein (pp. 76–96). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eagleton, T. (1993). Wittgenstein: The Terry Eagleton script. London: BFI Publishing.
Engelmann, P. (1967). Letters from Ludwig Wittgenstein, with a memoir. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Garver, N. (1990). Form of life in Wittgenstein’s later work. Dialectica, 44(1–2), 175–201.
Gasking, D. A. T., & Jackson, A. C. (1967). Wittgenstein as a teacher. In K. T. Fann (Ed.), Ludwig Wittgenstein: The man and his philosophy (pp. 49–55). New York: Dell Publishing Co.
Hargrove, E. C. (1980). Wittgenstein, Bartley, and the Glöckel school reform. Journal of History of Philosophy, 18(4), 453–461.
Heal, J. (1995). Wittgenstein and dialogue. In T. J. Smiley (Ed.), Philosophical dialogues: Plato, Hume, Wittgenstein (pp. 63–83). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
King, J. (1984). Recollections of Wittgenstein. In R. Rhees (Ed.), Recollections of Wittgenstein (pp. 68–75). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Leiber, J. (1997). On what sort of speech act Wittgenstein’s investigations is and why it matters. Philosophical Forum, 28(3), 232–267.
Lesnik-Oberstein, K. (2003). The Philosophical Investigations’ children. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 35(4), 381–394.
Mays, W. (1967). Recollections of Wittgenstein. In K. T. Fann (Ed.), Ludwig Wittgenstein: The man and his philosophy (pp. 79–88). New York: Dell Publishing Co.
Monk, R. (1990). Ludwig Wittgenstein: The duty of genius. London: Jonathan Cape.
Pascal, F. (1984). Wittgenstein: A personal memoir. In R. Rhees (Ed.), Recollections of Wittgenstein (pp. 12–49). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peters, M., & Marshall, J. (1999). Wittgenstein: Philosophy, postmodernism, pedagogy. London: Bergin & Garvey.
Savickey, B. (1999). Wittgenstein’s art of investigation. London: Routledge.
Savickey, B. (2011). Wittgenstein’s use of examples. In O. Kuusela & M. McGinn (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of Wittgenstein (pp. 667–696). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
von Wright, G. H. (1967). A biographical sketch. In K. T. Fann (Ed.), Ludwig Wittgenstein: The man and his philosophy (pp. 13–29). New York: Dell Publishing Co.
Wittgenstein, H. (1984). My brother Ludwig. In Recollections of Wittgenstein (pp. 1–11, R. Rhees, Ed., M. Clark, Trans.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wittgenstein, L. (1993). Preface to the dictionary for elementary schools. In Philosophical occasions: 1912–1951. (J. C. Klagge & A. Nordmann, Trans.). Indianapolis: Hackett (PO).
Wittgenstein, L. (1998). MS 119. Wittgenstein’s Nachlass: The Bergen electronic edition. Oxford University Press. http://www.nlx.com/collections/124. Accessed 30 Jan 2016 (WN).
Wittgenstein, L. (1980). Culture and value. (G. H. von Wright Ed., in collaboration with H. Nyman and P. Winch, Trans.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell (CV).
Wittgenstein, L. (2009). Philosophical investigations (G. E. M. Anscombe, P. M. S. Hacker, & J. Schulte, Trans.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell (PI).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McClure, E. (2017). Do Your Exercises: Reader Participation in Wittgenstein’s Investigations . In: Peters, M., Stickney, J. (eds) A Companion to Wittgenstein on Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3136-6_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3136-6_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-3134-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-3136-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)