WITTGENSTEIN AND THE END OF PHILOSOPHY: NEITHER THEORY NOR THERAPY

"There are a number of fundamental topics, including 'reality', 'meaning' and 'logic', that cannot be dealt with properly without an appropriate understanding of the end and limits of philosophy. In this book, Daniel D. Hutto draws on Wittgenstein's insights into how we must approach these topics to challenge the idea that we face a simple, methodological choice in philosophy: to advance theory or to attempt therapy.

Consideration of these topics tells against the prevalent opinion that philosophy is a kind of theorizing, scientific or otherwise. Yet this should not lead us to think that its business is purely therapeutic, designed to help rid us of such ambitions and attendant confusions.

It is possible to deny that philosophy is progressive, according to the standard conception, while also denying that it is wholly negative and deflationary. The author explores this third way by expounding, explicating and defending Wittgenstein's claim that philosophy clarifies our understanding of important philosophical matters."--Jacket.