Wittgenstein: On Words as Instruments Lessons in Philosophical Psychology

Wittgenstein believed that his writing should not save the other people the trouble of thinking for themselves. In this complex little book the author attempts to de-mystify Wittgenstein while at the same time stimulating the reader's own thought on the 'use of words as instruments.' The book looks particularly at Wittgenstein's use of words and his distrust of philosophical questions such as 'What are we reporting about ourselves when we say we believe something?' It stresses the wide range of ways in which these questions arise, and the care and perceptiveness that is needed to expose their limitations. In a method derived from Wittgenstein it shows the reader how to handle difficulties about psychological words, and gives novel interpretations of perplexing passages in the Investigations and Zettel. Professor Hunter takes the reader through a series of difficult notions in an informal and thought-provoking style and deals with an important part of Wittgenstein's work which has been little covered in the past.