David Pears – författare

An introduction to the work of the philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein. It analyzes Wittgenstein's two major works, the "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" and the "Philosophical Investigation", and sets his conclusions against the background of changes in the nature of philosophy in the 20th century.

This is the second of two volumes which describe the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy from the "Notebooks" and the "Tractatus" to "Philosophical Investigations" and his other later writings. This volume covers his later philosophy from 1929 onwards. It traces two lines of thought, one starting from the treatment of solipsism in the "Tractatus" and the other developing out of the early theory of language proposed in that book. The work as a whole is designed to fill a gap in the literature on Wittgenstein, and the doctrines and ideas chosen for close discussion are those which the author believes reveal the general structure of Wittgenstein's thought. Pears aims to relate the general to the particular within a clearly delineated framework, thereby hoping to make Wittgenstein more accessible to students of philosophy and to non-specialists. Volume I and II form a continuous study of Wittgenstein's philosophy, but they are designed to be read independently of each other.

This is the first of two volumes which describe the development of Wittgenstein's philosophy from the Tracatus to his later writings. Part I of this volume is a survey of the whole of his work; Part II is a detailed examination of the central ideas for his early system. The second volume will cover later philosophy.The book fills a gap in the literature on Wittgenstein between brief introductions and detailed commentaries. Although necessarily selective, the doctrines and ideas chosen for detailed discussion are those which reveal the general structure of Wittgenstein's work. David Pears has taken full account of the origins of Wittgenstein's philosophy and its relation to the philosophies of his predecessors and contemporaries. But the author's main emphasis is on the internal organization of Wittgenstein's thought. Philosophy students concentrate on the details of his work but often find it difficult to see their place in the general pattern. This book presents the general and the particular within a relatively constant framework, thereby making Wittgenstein's thought more accessible to students of philosophy and to non-specialists.

In this book, Professor Pears examines the foundations of Hume's system as laid down in the first book of his Treatise, where his ideas are oresebted in their first fresh and undiluted form. The author steers a middle course between the two extreme views adopted in recent writings on Hume: that he relies exclusively on a theory of meaning, or that he relies exclusively on a theory of truth and evidence. Professor Pears argues that Hume's theory of ideas serves both functions, and he examines in detail its application to three difficult problems: causation, personal identity, and sense-perception. Hume's solutions are shown not to be theories which can be given a place in a standard classification of philosophical theories, but rather to depend upon a subtle form of naturalism not altogether unlike Wittgenstein's naturalism.

In this book, Professor Pears examines the foundations of Hume's system as laid down in the first book of his Treatise, where his ideas are presented in their first fresh and undiluted form. The author steers a middle course between the two extreme views adopted in recent writings on Hume: that he relies exclusively on a theory of meaning, or that he relies exclusively on a theory of truth and evidence. Professor Pears argues that Hume's theory of ideas serves both functions, and he examines in detail its application to three difficult problems: causation, personal identity, and sense-perception. Hume's solutions are shown not to be theories which can be given a place in a standard classification of philosophical theories, but rather to depend upon a subtle form of naturalism not altogether unlike Wittgenstein's naturalism.

This is a concise and readable study of five intertwined themes at the heart of Wittgenstein's thought, written by one of his most eminent interpreters. David Pears offers penetrating investigations and lucid explications of some of the most influential and yet puzzling writings of twentieth-century philosophy. He focuses on the idea of language as a picture of the world; the phenomenon of linguistic regularity; the famous 'private language argument'; logical necessity; and ego and the self.