Wittgenstein For Ever
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Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein (Wenen 1889 – 1951 Cambridge) is the greatest philosopher of language of the 20th century, and also one of the most fascinating philosophers of all times. During his live he published four things: a short and negative book review (1913, in Cambridge Review), one book (Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, 1922), one paper (‘Some Remarks on Logical Form’, in Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, 1928), and a children’s dictionary (Wörterbuch für Volksschulen, 1926). In TLP, Wittgenstein presents a metaphysical theory of meaning. In his posthumuously published Philosophical Investigations (1953), he presents a completely different ‘theory’ of meaning. The style in both masterpieces is different, and
distinct from all other philosophical works (although the mosaic of a large number of unordered §§s in PI reminds us of several of Nietzsche’s works). This graduate workshop provides an introduction to Wittgenstein’s thought. All the subjects associated with the name of Wittenstein one may have heard off during one’s Bachelor or Masters education will appear (theory of meaning, saying versus showing, the ladder, the private language argument, rule-following, Kripkenstein, Moore’s proof of the external world, hinge epistemology, the fly in the bottle, the beetle in the box, and whatnot). The worksop consists of lectures and panel conversations, of which the last-mentioned will be thoroughly prepared: participants have to hand in twice two hermeneutic questions (see below) in order to earn their 5 EC; they also have to do some preparatory reading.
The workshop takes three days, Wednesday until and including Friday; we begin each day at noon (12:00 hours, see the schedule under program).
| Primary target group | ReMA students and PhD researchers |
| If places available also open to | Postdocs |
| Type of activity | Workshop |
| Certificate credit points | 5 ECTS |
| Organizer | Prof. dr. F.A. Muller |
| Location | Janskerkhof 13 |
| Date | August 20 @ 12:00 |
| Venue | De Stijlkamer |
Wed. 20 August 2025 Wittgenstein I
- 12:00–12:05 h. Welcome – F.A. Muller (EUR, UU)
- 12:05–12:15 h. Participants introduce themselves – students, PhDs
- 12:15–13:15 h. Intro and overview Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (TLP) –
G. Sündholm (LU) - 13:00–13:30 h. lunch break
- 13:30–14:30 h. TLP and der Satz – M. v.d. Schaar (LU)
- 14:30–15:30 h. Saying and Showing in TLP – W. Vanrie (Ghent)
- 15:30–15:45 h. refreshment break
- 15:45–16:30 h. Wittgenstein on Russell’s Antinomy in TLP ft. Max Black – F.A. Muller
Th. 21 August 2025 Wittgenstein I and II
- 12:00–13:00 h. Wittgenstein on Mathematics – V. Gijsbers (LU)
- 13:00–13:30 h. lunch break
- 13:30–15:00 Panel and hermeneutic questions about TLP posed by students and PhDs
– Previous speakers - 15:00–15:15 h. refreshment break
- 15:30–16:30 h. Wittgenstein’s conception of Philosophy and Philosophical Investigations ft Hacker and Baker – M. Lievers (UU)
- 16:30–17:30 h. Wittgenstein on Action and the Will – N. van Miltenburg (UU)
Fr. 22 August 2025 Wittgenstein II
- 12:00–13:00 h. Rules, Games and Rule-Following ft. Kripke and the private language argument –
T. Dobler (VUA)
13:00–14:00 h. On Certainty, Hinge Epistemology, ft. Moore – C.B. Ranalli (VUA)
14:00–14:30 h. lunch break
14:30–16:00 h. Panel with hermeneutic questions about what-has-been-read; and free for all about
Wittgenstein- Previous Speakers
16:00 h. Drinks – everybody
Preperation: some reading and preparing hermeneutic questions
Participants prepare in total four hermeneutic questions (see below), two about TLP, and two about some reading material from Wittgenstein II. These questions will be displayed on screen and read out oud by the participant. The panel and the participants will attempt to answer them. Of the in total four hermeneutic questions to hand in must be two about TLP; and two about: §88–§133 of PI, Gordon Baker’s ‘Philosophical Investigations §122: Neglected Aspects’ (in: Katherine J. Morris, ed., Wittgenstein’s Method. Neglected Aspects. Essays on Wittgenstein by Gordon Baker. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004, pp. 22–51), P.M.S. Hacker’s ‘Gordon Baker’s Late Interpretation of Wittgenstein’ (in: Guy Kahane, Edward Kanterian, and Oskari Kuusela, eds., Wittgenstein and his interpreters. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 88–122), and Wittgenstein’s On Certainty (§100 ff.), G.E. Moore’s ‘Proof of the External World’ (1939). These questions will be displayed on screen, and read out loud by the participant. The other participants will attempt to answer them; panel members will jump in when things threaten to go haywire. (This will make this workshop a serious course, for which the performance of intellectual work is required, rather than a series of talks.)
Hermeneutic Questions meet the following ten requirements:
- A single precize question, showing that you have read the text seriously.
- Motive your question, ideally supported by references to the text or citations, or
both: why are you asking this? - An answer should lead to a better understanding of the text.
- Avoid as much as possible elements from outside the text (like mentioning other
philosophers and their ideas). - Avoid judgements (whether you agree or disagree with something in the text read is
irrelevant). - Do not answer your own question (even if you think you know the answer – puzzling
then to ask to pose the question). - Do not pose any other question in your motivation (2).
- Do not pose rhetorical questions.
- Do not pose questions that are objections in disguised (“Is it not true that ….?”,
“Is this not dubious because …?”, etc.) - The question and its motivation should fit on one beamer-screen (try this at home).
Send the questions copy-past-able directly to:
Deadlines:
- Two questions about TLP: Thursday 20 August 2025, 09:00 hours.
Two questions about texts by W II: Friday 21 August 2025, 09:00 hours
Why these hermeneutic questions? What’s the point?
- To prepare a fruitful exchange during the workshop panels.
- To acquire, or to improve, the capacity to pose precise questions about a
philosophical text in order to understand the text better. - To make you do something for this course besides listening attentively.
Costs:
- Free for ReMA students who are a member of the OZSW and/or another research school in the Humanities (LOGOS)
- Free for PhD candidates who are a member of the OZSW and/or another research school in the Humanites (LOGOS);
- All others pay a tuition fee of 250 euros.
How to register:
- Members of the OZSW: make sure you are logged in on the website. After you have successfully registered for the course, it will appear in your ‘profile page’.
- PhD researchers and ReMA students may register via the registration button on this website.
- Others may apply for a waiting list (as the primary target group for this activity is PhD researchers/ ReMA students) by sending an email to
The registration deadline is August 4, 2025. If registration has been closed because the maximum amount of participants has been reached, you can submit your name to the waiting list by sending an email to . Please also indicate whether you are a ReMA student or PhD candidate and whether you are a member of the OZSW or not.
The OZSW registration and cancellation policy applies to this activity (to be found here).
| Name | Prof. dr. F.A. Muller |