Wittgenstein's Later Theory of Meaning

By exploring the significance of Wittgenstein’s later texts relating to the philosophy of language, Wittgenstein’s Later Theory of Meaning offers insights that will transform our understanding of the influential 20th-century philosopher. Explores the significance of Wittgenstein’s later texts relating to the philosophy of language, and offers new insights that transform our understanding of the influential 20th-century philosopher Provides original interpretations of  the systematic points about language in Wittgenstein’s later writings that reveal his theory of meaning Engages in close readings of a variety of Wittgenstein’s later texts to explore what the philosopher really had to say about ‘kinds of words’ and ‘parts of speech’ Frees Wittgenstein from his reputation as an unsystematic thinker with nothing to offer but ‘therapy’ for individual cases of philosophical confusion

Acknowledgments vii Foreword by Charles Taylor viii Introduction 1 1 The Fregean Perspective and Concomitant Expectations One Brings to Wittgenstein 7 2 How a Language Game Becomes Extended 21 3 Kinds of Expression 35 4 “Function” in Language Games and in Sentential Contexts 47 5 The Sound of a Sentence I: Singing from the Score 67 6 Projection: No Mere Mapping but a Creative Activity 83 7 The Sound of a Sentence II: Surface Grammar 98 8 Complexity 104 9 An Integration of Wittgenstein and Frege? 115 10 Dummett’s Doubts and Frege’s Concept of “Sense” 128 11 Wittgenstein on “Communicating Something” 137 12 “Grammatical Sense” and “Syntactic Metaphor”: A Wittgensteinian Solution 152 13 A “Theory of Meaning” – In What Sense? 166 Index 180