[C] [Wittrs] Re: Wittgenstein and Theories
- From: Sean Wilson <whoooo26505@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:52:45 -0800 (PST)
(J)
I'm at a loss on this last contribution of yours. I'm working on something so
I'm going to type fast (read: "warning"). Maybe I'll catch a better reply
later ...
TJB is not a "definition" of knowledge; it's a formalism. A definition would be
something like this. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knowledge. In a
Wittgensteinian universe, all that "knowledge" is, is an idea
that conveys doubt-removing grammar. Of course, confusions may arise where one
deploys it outside of that framework (see Moore). There isn't any
philosophical issue as to what knowledge is; there is only understanding what
it does in a sentence or context.
As such, one would need to be a lexicographer of the idea rather than a
philosopher. All that the philosophy-properly-understood could do with the idea
is make sure that people are not confused into thinking that they must verify a
three-point-test before they can play the language game. In fact,
Wittgenstein's approach in OC is a good example of what philosophy is supposed
to do: show that one is using doubt-removing grammar where it is pointless to
do so.
Here is the point: theory of knowledge is what produces TJB. Wittgenstein says:
don't use theories. He means exactly that you should not pontificate about what
knowledge is with the intention of producing something like TJB. Instead, he
says "look and see." And when you do, what you end up with is an acute sort of
linguistic radar. And it catches various senses and plays. And the end result,
therefore, is that "knowledge" is seen as being in the service of
doubt-removal. And that the conditions of assertability being as such, the idea
plays as it does in certain venues (e.g., "local knowledge"), the point only
ever being the servicing of that venue.
There are no mysteries here. There is only the confusion that
philosophy-the-social-club causes in language.
Regards and thanks.
Dr. Sean Wilson, Esq.
Assistant Professor
Wright State University
Personal Website: http://seanwilson.org
SSRN papers: http://ssrn.com/author=596860
Discussion Group: http://seanwilson.org/wittgenstein.discussion.html
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