The struggle against dogmatism : Wittgenstein and the concept of philosophy /

Coeditor (with G. Kahane and E. Kanterian) of Wittgenstein and His Interpreters, a "new Wittgenstein" collection inspired by Gordon Baker, Kuusela (U. East Anglia, Norwich) here presents his understanding of Wittgenstein's development of "an alternative approach to philosophy, one that does not involve philosophical doctrines, theses, or theories." He moves from an account of Wittgenstein's early and later conceptions of philosophical problems to an account of philosophical clarification as logical analysis, tracing the route from the Tractatus's conception of one complete analysis to the later critique of that idea. With their emergence from that critique always in view, Kuusela discusses Wittgenstein's later remarks on grammar, essence, necessity, and clarifying remarks themselves, seeking a conception of philosophical practice free from doctrines that answer questions. To do this Kuusela relies on Wittgenstein's view that philosophical work requires a variety of methods, giving a list of nine, while insisting that there is no single meta-method or hierarchy of methods. He links this contention to the idea of "bringing words back" to everyday use, and closes with an account of the intellectual and nonintellectual inclinations that lead one astray to begin with. This work is a subtle, attractive depiction of the "new Wittgenstein." Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates and up. J. Churchill formerly, Hendrix College