BASS Social Anthropology and Data Analytics / Course details

The course examines some of the major themes from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico Philosophicus (1921) and Philosophical Investigations (1953). Topics covered include: 

On the Tractatus: logical atomism; the picture theory of meaning; the nature of logic and necessity; the distinction between saying and showing and the paradox of the Tractatus. 

On Philosophical Investigations: critique of the Augustinian picture of language and ostensive definition; meaning and use; meaning, understanding and mental processes; rule following; the private language argument; and criteria and other minds.

Pre-requisites: 40 PHIL credits at Level 2

The course aims to:

• give students a detailed understanding of some of the issues and themes found in the work of the early and later Wittgenstein
• enable students to evaluate Wittgenstein's work;
• enable students to appreciate Wittgenstein's relevance to current issues in philosophy;
• enable students to think through the issues for themselves and arrive at well-argued conclusions.

Lectures (20 hours): delivery of content

Tutorials (10 hours): small group discussion will facilitate student engagement

Office Hours: students will have access to the course convenor through regular office hours

VLE: learning materials (reading lists, lecture slides, etc.) available online (asynchronous)

Essay Plans: students will be encouraged to submit essay plans for formative feedback

• demonstrate an understanding of some of the crucial parts of Wittgenstein’s Tractatus
• demonstrate an understanding of some of the crucial parts of Wittgenstein’s Investigations
• demonstrate a grasp of the extent of Wittgenstein’s contribution to contemporary philosophical debates

• assess Wittgenstein’s claims and arguments
• write logically, concisely, relevantly, analytically and critically 
• evaluate the lasting significance of Wittgenstein’s contribution to philosophy

• interpret and criticise both primary and secondary texts
• locate relevant and appropriate scholarly literature

Key transferable skills (critical thinking, discussion, independent research) enhance employability and are key to many routes to employment.

• undertake independent research
• articulate complex ideas clearly
• apply theoretical knowledge and critical reasoning to complex issues in a clear and logically rigorous manner

The School of Social Sciences (SoSS) is committed to providing timely and appropriate feedback to students on their academic progress and achievement, thereby enabling students to reflect on their progress and plan their academic and skills development effectively. Students are reminded that feedback is necessarily responsive: only when a student has done a certain amount of work and approaches us with it at the appropriate fora is it possible for us to feed back on the student’s work. The main forms of feedback on this course are written feedback responses to assessed essays and exam answers.

We also draw your attention to the variety of generic forms of feedback available to you on this as on all SoSS courses. These include: meeting the lecturer/tutor during their office hours; e-mailing questions to the lecturer/tutor; asking questions from the lecturer (before and after lecture); and obtaining feedback from your peers during tutorials.

The following reading list is indicative, and students are not required to read all the publications listed. 

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations

William Child, Wittgenstein

Marie McGinn, Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations