The Radial Method of the Middle Wittgenstein - by Piotr Dehnel (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Spanning the period between Wittgenstein's return to Cambridge in 1929 and the first version of Philosophical Investigationsin 1936, Piotr Dehnel explores the middle stage in Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophical development and identifies the major issues which engrossed him, including phenomenology, philosophy of mathematics and philosophy of language. Contrary to the dominant perspective, Dehnel argues that this period was intrinsically different from the early and late stages and should not be viewed as a mere transitional phase.

The distinctiveness of Wittgenstein's middle work can be seen in his philosophical thinking as it unfolds in a non-linear trajectory: thoughts do not follow upon each other, ideas do not appear sequentially one by one, and insights do not form a straight chain. Dehnel portrays the diffused and multifarious quality of Wittgenstein's middle thinking, enabling readers to form a more comprehensive view of his entire philosophy and acquire a better grasp of his conceptual trajectory, complete with the intricacies and challenges that it poses.

Review Quotes

The book sheds an interesting new light on interpretations of Ludwig Wittgenstein's philosophy as it offers one of the first explorations of his concepts between the Tractatusand the Philosophical Investigations. The author argues that, rather than developing in a linear sequence from insight to insight and from idea to idea, Wittgenstein's thought in the middle period expands radially, unfolding in several directions at the same time. A must-read for Wittgenstein researchers, the book is certainly of profound interest to humanities scholars and social scientists alike.

Leszek Koczanowicz, Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Poland

This book offers broad hermeneutic explanations of Wittgenstein's writings from 1929 to 1936. They are based on a thorough knowledge of the source material, which they place in the context of his thought and its philosophical environment. I am impressed with the scientific merit of the present work.
Herbert Hrachovec, Associate Professor at the Institute for Philosophy, University of Vienna, Austria

About the Author

Piotr Dehnel is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Lower Silesia and the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wroclaw, Poland.