This book presents an account and defense of Wittgenstein's later philosophy emphasizing its therapeutic character. Peterman argues that any therapeutic philosophy must present an account of human health, a related account of the mechanisms of health and illness, and finally an account of how philosophy can bring someone from a state of illness to health. In light of this general model, he presents an interpretation of Wittgenstein's therapeutic project that emphasizes the continuity between it and the earlier ethical project of the Tractatus. The book confronts the problem of continuity by arguing that the earlier ethical goal of coming into agreement with the world as such is replaced in the later views by the therapeutic goal of coming into agreement with forms of life. In the course of the argument, Peterman challenges standard interpretations of Wittgenstein's project and standard modes of criticizing and defending it. The book also contributes to contemporary philosophical discussion by showing why we should take seriously the project of philosophical therapy.
"The book is a thorough attempt to read Wittgenstein in his own terms. It is rare to see a scholar take as seriously as does Peterman Wittgenstein's own image of philosophy as a kind of therapy. Thus the book is a useful (and practically unique) contribution to the literature.
"I very much like his master-notion of agreement ('agreement with the world' in the early work; 'agreement with the form of one's life' in the later) as a way of organizing what Wittgenstein was up to in his philosophical efforts. Peterman has seen something important here, something that no other commentator has grasped in the same way he does. This notion is the major contribution of the book to Wittgenstein studies." -- James C. Edwards, Furman University
James F. Peterman is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at The University of the South.
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Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1: Philosophy as Therapy
Introduction
Philosophical Therapy
Therapeutic Issues
The Interpretive Project
Chapter 2: Wittgenstein, Ethics, and Therapy
Introduction
An Overview
Clarity and Silence as Goals
The Notions of Sound Human Understanding and the Human Good
Philosophy, Ethics, and Method
Ethics and Philosophy
Epistemology, Therapy, and Clarity
Chapter 3: Confession and Dialogue
Introduction
Confessional Text
Temptations and Inclinations
I, You, and We
Torment and Disturbance
Cavell on Confession
Chapter 4: The Role Of Similes in Illness and Health
Introduction
Spengler and the Importance of Simile
Optimism or Pessimism?
The Significance of Simile
Conclusion
Chapter 5: The Conflict between Philosophy and Science
Introduction
Freud: Science, Myth, and Therapy
How Not to Criticize Wittgenstein: Chihara and Fodor
How Not to Defend Wittgenstein: Hunter
Chapter 6: An Evaluation of Wittgenstein's Therapeutic Project I
Introduction
The Form or Forms of Life?
Agreement in Forms of Life
Agreement in Forms of Life as an Ideal of Health
Individual Versus Cultural Health
The Therapy Fully Clarified
The Question of Conservatism
Chapter 7: An Evaluation of Wittgenstein's Therapeutic Project II
Introduction
The Problem of Justifying the Therapeutic Method
Aesthetics as the Model for Therapy
Philosophy as the Handmaiden of Culture
The Question of Precedence
Notes
Bibliography
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