CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Ambardekar, Pranav Niranjan |
|---|---|
| Title | Wittgenstein on Knowledge and Certainty |
| Summary | In this thesis, I bring to the fore Wittgenstein’s take on two philosophical problems that he engages with in On Certainty: the problem of philosophical scepticism and the problem of characterizing ‘Moore-like propositions.’ In chapter 1, I begin by providing the philosophical background of On Certainty. This involves taking note of: the global sceptic’s challenge, G. E. Moore’s project of defending common sense and Norman Malcolm’s argument against Moore’s project. In chapter 2, I present two lines of attack based on Wittgenstein’s remarks: the first aims at undermining the kinds of philosophical doubts that constitute the global sceptic’s challenge; the second has as its target Moore’s strategy of defending common sense in the face of the challenge posed by idealist philosophers. In chapter 3, I discuss the proposals that Wittgenstein explores in response to the problem of characterization of Moore-like propositions. I argue against interpretations of Wittgenstein’s remarks, put forth by Malcolm, Stroll and Moyal-Sharrock, which suggest that Moore-like propositions are objectively certain for us. Next, I argue against the use of the concept of objective certainty, as Moyal-Sharrock understands it, to characterize Moore-like propositions; instead, I suggest that the logical exclusion of mistake and the inconceivability of doubt most appropriately characterize them. Although this short thesis is far from exhaustive not only in discussing all the main issues that occupy Wittgenstein in On Certainty, but also in exploring the issues that it does discuss in part, I hope that a general picture of Wittgenstein’s approach to some of the perennial questions of epistemology begins to emerge from it. |
| Supervisor | Ben-Yami, Hanoch |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/ambardekar_pranav.pdf |
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