Wittgenstein and the Context of Rationality
Towards a Language-Practical Notion of Rational Reason and Action
Rationality as a central concept in occidental philosophy and social sciences never seemed to spark the interest of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Here it will be argued that – although “rationality” does not explicitly show up in his works – Wittgenstein not only deals with questions definitively ascribed to the conceptual history of the term, but he also works towards a transformation of the concept. Wittgenstein’s efforts were aimed at showing that there is nothing within human nature that defines what is perceived as rational, irrational, or non-rational, but that the differences are produced in human language and action. The necessity of such a transformative perspective on rationality, however, can only be adequately captured by recognizing the taxonomy of some of Wittgenstein’s best-known concepts. It will be argued that this systematic arrangement has to be completed by another concept: the context.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Rational Choice And “Trivial Rationality”
- 3.The Place of Rationality in Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Language
- 3.1Facts of Nature, Form of Life, and Language
- 3.2Language-Games and Rules
- 4.The Context of Rationality
- 5.Conclusion
- Acknowledgement
- Notes
-
References
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Peters, Michael A.
2022.
Language-games philosophy: Language-games as rationality and method.
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