Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review
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Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Understanding Wittgenstein, Understanding Modernism |
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Editors | Anat Matar |
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Place of Publication | London |
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Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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Edition | 1st |
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ISBN (Electronic) | 9781501302442 |
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Publication status | Published - 26 Jan 2017 |
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Abstract
My aim in this chapter is to show that Cavell's modernist Wittgenstein is too Cavellian. Wittgenstein's philosophy is not – as Cavell claims it is – permeated with (1) a nostalgia for metaphysics; (2) a dissatisfaction with language and criteria; (3) an ineluctable scepticism; all prompting (4) Existential devastation and angst. I will conclude that Cavell reads his own preoccupations into Wittgenstein and that this prevents him from seeing that Wittgenstein's certainty logically dismisses scepticism. Cavell's Wittgenstein is still a groundbreaking philosopher, but seen through Cavell's modernist glass darkly, his philosophy breeds disappointment, alienation and scepticism where it, in fact, sows enlightenment, community and certainty.
Notes
Daniel Moyal-Sharrock, 'Too Cavellian a Wittgenstein: Wittgenstein's Certainty, Cavell's Scepticism', in Matar, A. Ed., Wittgenstein and Modernism, London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017, ISBN 9781501302442.
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