On Friedrich Waismann's Interpretation And Development Of "Middle" Wittgenstein's Philosophy

The present dissertation is a vendication of Friedrich Waismann's significance in the history of analytic philosophy:Waismann's texts can provide the scholars of logical empiricism much help in re-understanding the development of Vienna Circle and the specific stances of the goup members in their conversations and debates with Ludwig Wittgenstein during the 1930s;the philosophical interaction between Waismann and Wittgenstein,and Waismann's interpretation of Wittgenstein's thoughts provide us with a different perspective in unerstanding the "Middle" Witggenstein:Waismann is not only the first Wittgenstein interpreter,but also the first Wittgensteinian philosopher.Three threads are inbedded:the construction of the continuity of "Middle" Wittgenstein's philosophy is the threoretical background for re-evaluating Waismann's significance;the investigation of the interaction among Wittgenstein,Waismann and Vienna Circle duringthe 1930s is the historical background for my justification and refutation of Waismann's being neglected and underestimated;Waismann's interpretation and development of"Middle" Wittgenstein's concrete philsophy ideas are the evidence of Waismann's siginificance.The first and last threads are closely interrelated.First,I argue that we should investigate Wittgenstein's philosophy from the'holistic' perspective so as to demonstrate Waismann's significance.The 'holistic'persepctive lies essentially in the point that there is not only a dynamic transformation but a continuous development of Wittgenstein's thoght thorough his whole career:there is no essential change in his meta-philosophy,ways of thinking and writing style in different periods.I regard Tractatus and Philosophical Investigations as two 'poles' of Wittgenstein's philosophy,taking The Big Typescripts as the representative of 'Middle'Wittgenstein's philosophy.I argue that there are three approaches in constructing the continuitiy of 'Middle' Wittgenstein's philosophy:his critic and giving up of 'logical atomism';his transformation of his semantics;Waismann's witness of 'Middle'Wittgenstein's philosophy development and his interpretation of 'Middle' Wittgenstein's relavent thoughts is the third approach.Second,Waismnn's being underestimated and neglected in the analytic philosophy was due to his unique role which he had played in the conversations and interactions between Wittgenstein and Vienna Circle,it is the consequence of the debates betweenWittgenstein and the group members,and the confrontation between the 'left' and 'right'wings of the Circle during the 1930s.In my opinion,Waismann's contribution in analytic philosophy lies in two parts:his understanding and interpretation of 'Middle'Wittgenstein's thoughts on 'hypothesis' and 'verification',the 'ostensive definition'and the meta-philosophy can provide the present interpreters new insights and referential value;Moreover,his development of 'Middle' Wittgenstein's philosophy is crystalized in'language strata' and his meta-philosohy in his later career.Generally,there are five key notions in 'language strata':logic,the completeness in description,open texture,verification and truth.I argue that 'language strata' is deeply influenced and inspired by his interaction with Wittgenstein during the 1930s:it is through Wittgenstein's view on'verifictaion' that Waismann formed that idea step-by-step.Waismann inherits 'Middle'Wittgenstein's following ideas of meta-philosohy:he still insists the method of linguistic analysis in philosophizing;he still believes that philosophical problems are philosopher's'intellectual disquiet',and we should take a 'survey' perspective in philosophizing;we should change our view from explanation to description.Furthermore,Waismann also critizes and goes beyond 'Middle' Wittgenstein:he does not agree with Wittgenstein completely that philosophical problems are dissolved rather than solved;that the meaning of a word lies at its concrete use.In contrast,later Waismann believes that the core of philosophizing lies at a deep 'insight' of the problem itself;the purpose of linguistic analysis method is to remove the philosopher's disquiet,to change their perspecive in looking at philosophical problems,it is not merely a persuit of clarity.The essense of philosophy is freedom.Last but not the least,through Waismann's interpretation of 'Middle' Wittgenstein's thoughts on 'hypothesis' and 'verification',we can have a better understanding of the'verificationism period'in 'Middle' Wittgenstein:Wittgenstein's thoughts on'verification' is not only different from the Vienna Circle's logical positivism,it also inspires later Waismann's 'language strata';by investigating Waismann's interpretaion of Wittgenstein's view on 'ostensive definition',I trace the development process of'Middle' Wittgenstein's semantic views:he criticized the mentalism and logism semantic theories in the Big Typescripts at the very beginning,then he proposed that the mening of a word lies at its actural use in daily life in the Philosophcial Investigations,which proves that there is a continuity in 'Middle' Wittgenstein's philosophy:he transformed from the mentalistic and loigistic semantc theories to the foucs of the actural use of language.Wittgenstein's focus on word's actural use is exhibited in his discussion of 'ostensive definition',in which he illustrates many language games.When we are concerned with word's actural use,we should take many non-linguitstic elements into consideration,which also demonstrates that Wittgenstein's continuity and transformation from the inquiry of word's actural application to the focus of the clarity of the actural acts of human being's in commuicating by their languages.In my view,there are many differences between Waismann and Wittgenstein regarding to 'ostensive definition';By investigating Waismann's interpretation of 'Middle' Wittgenstein's meta-philosophy,I prove that the 'Middle' Wittgenstein still insists that philosophical problems arise from philosophers' confusion and misunderstanding of ordinary language being used in expressing the propostions,no matter sementically or pragamtically.In the Tractatelianperiod,Wittgenstein forcefully points out that philosophical inversigation is the crititc of language,its essential approach is linguistic analysis.In the Big Typescript,Wittgenstein continually formes the linguistic analysis method with psycho-analysis flavor:linguistic analysis is the gist methodology of the 'therapeutic' philosophy.In the Philosophical Invesitigations,Wittgenstein progressively transforms from the linguistic analysis method with the flavor of psycho-analysis to the grammatical investigation which takingpragamatics as the core of philosophical investigation.