The New Wittgenstein is a family of interpretations of the work of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...

. In particular, those associated with this interpretation understand Wittgenstein to have avoided putting forth a "positive" metaphysical

Metaphysics

Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...

 program, and understand him to be advocating philosophy as a form of "therapy." Under this interpretation, Wittgenstein's program is dominated by the idea that philosophical problems are symptoms of illusions or "bewitchments by language," and that attempts at a "narrow" solution to philosophical problems, that do not take into account larger questions of how the questioner conducts his life, interacts with other people, and uses language generally, are doomed to failure. According to the introduction to the anthology The New Wittgenstein (ISBN 0-415-17319-1):
While many philosophers have suggested variants of such ideas in readings of Wittgenstein's "late" work, associated with the Philosophical Investigations

Philosophical Investigations

Philosophical Investigations is, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the most influential works by the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein...

, a notable aspect of the New Wittgenstein interpretation is a view that Wittgenstein's early work, exemplified by the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is the only book-length philosophical work published by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his lifetime. It was an ambitious project: to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science...

, and the Investigations, are actually more deeply connected, and in less opposition, to each other than usually understood. This view is in direct conflict with the longstanding, if somewhat old-fashioned, interpretation of the Tractatus advocated by the logical positivists

Logical positivism

Logical positivism is a philosophy that combines empiricism—the idea that observational evidence is indispensable for knowledge—with a version of rationalism incorporating mathematical and logico-linguistic constructs and deductions of epistemology.It may be considered as a type of analytic...

 associated with the Vienna Circle

Vienna Circle

The Vienna Circle was an association of philosophers gathered around the University of Vienna in 1922, chaired by Moritz Schlick, also known as the Ernst Mach Society in honour of Ernst Mach...

.

There is no unitary "New Wittgenstein" interpretation, and proponents differ deeply amongst themselves. Philosophers often associated with the interpretation include a number of influential philosophers, mostly associated with (although sometimes antagonistic to) the traditions of analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy

Analytic philosophy is a generic term for a style of philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century...

, including Stanley Cavell

Stanley Cavell

Stanley Louis Cavell is an American philosopher. He is the Walter M. Cabot Professor Emeritus of Aesthetics and the General Theory of Value at Harvard University.-Life:...

, James F. Conant

James F. Conant

James Ferguson Conant is an American philosopher who has written extensively on topics in philosophy of language, ethics, and metaphilosophy. He is perhaps best known for his writings on Wittgenstein, and his association with the New Wittgenstein school of Wittgenstein interpretation. James Conant...

, John McDowell

John McDowell

John Henry McDowell is a South African philosopher, formerly a fellow of University College, Oxford and now University Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Although he has written extensively on metaphysics, epistemology, ancient philosophy, and meta-ethics, McDowell's most influential work...

, Matthew B. Ostrow, Thomas Ricketts

Thomas Ricketts

Thomas "Tommy" Ricketts VC was a Newfoundlander and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...

, Warren Goldfarb

Warren Goldfarb

Warren D. Goldfarb is a philosopher and mathematician with a specialization in logic, most noted for his work on the classical decision problem, and in particular his book on the subject, The decision problem: Solvable classes of quantificational formulas, with Burton Dreben. He received his Ph.D....

, Hilary Putnam

Hilary Putnam

Hilary Whitehall Putnam is an American philosopher, mathematician and computer scientist, who has been a central figure in analytic philosophy since the 1960s, especially in philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of mathematics, and philosophy of science...

, Jan Zwicky

Jan Zwicky

Jan Zwicky is a Canadian philosopher, poet, essayist, and musician.She received her B.A. from the University of Calgary and earned her PhD at the University of Toronto in 1981 where her studies focussed on the philosophy of logic and science...

, Stephen Mulhall

Stephen Mulhall

Stephen Mulhall is a philosopher and Fellow of New College, Oxford. His main research areas are Ludwig Wittgenstein and post-Kantian philosophy.-Life:...

, and Cora Diamond

Cora Diamond

Cora Diamond is an American philosopher. She has worked on problems in analytic philosophy, the interpretation of Ludwig Wittgenstein, and moral philosophy. A moral vegetarian, she has also examined the rhetorical and philosophical nature of contemporary attitudes towards animal rights...

. Explicit critics of the "New Wittgenstein" interpretation include Ian Proops and Genia Schönbaumsfeld.