Series | Philosophica. Nuova serie
Volume 2 | Monograph | Pensare Wittgenstein
Pensare Wittgenstein
Una lettura de Il sapere senza fondamenti di A.G. Gargani
open access | peer reviewed- Matteo Vagelli - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - email
Abstract
Through a nuanced analysis of the 1970s intellectual landscape in Italy, this book navigates the trajectory from a materialist analysis of science rooted in Marxism towards a linguistic-epistemological approach. This transition, as envisioned through Gargani’s Il sapere senza fondamenti (1975) and Wittgenstein’s philosophy, culminates in a provocative exploration of a politically infused approach to understanding science and knowledge. Under this light, the book explores the notion of ‘political epistemology,’ delineating varied perspectives on how philosophy engages with politics and how Wittgenstein’s philosophy can be politically construed. Chapters 1 and 2 reconstruct the terms of the debate on the nature and limits of science, with a specific focus on some of the positions expressed in the Italian intellectual context of the mid-1970s. By examining various historiographical perspectives and methodological approaches, these chapters define the possibility of a historical-analytical approach to the study of science and knowledge. They do so by emphasising the novelty of Aldo Giorgio Gargani’s intervention in the debate, which aimed at reassessing the ties between science and ordinary forms of knowledge and experience avoiding both purely externalist as well as purely internalist interpretations of science. Chapter 3 retraces Gargani’s reading of science to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language, especially to the reflections developed by the latter in the intermediate phase between the publication of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921) and his so-called ‘second philosophy’, as expressed in the Philosophical Investigations (1953). The genesis of an analytical methodology applicable to the historical study of scientific concepts is sought in Wittgenstein’s critical views on the phenomena of fetishism inherent to language that he developed in this intermediate phase of his life and work. In Chapter 4, different and alternative possibilities are illustrated wherein philosophy engages with politics, as well as various ways of politicising Wittgenstein’s philosophy. A resolute reading of Wittgenstein on meaning and nonsense justifies maintaining the avenue for linguistic-social critique and, consequently, political change. Thus, ‘political’ epistemology enables us to return to science and its foundational discussions with an entirely different approach and methodology.
Keywords Philosophical grammar • Gargani • Forms of life • Wittgenstein • Political epistemology
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-798-2 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-798-2 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-848-4 | Number of pages 166 | Published April 23, 2024 | Accepted Feb. 19, 2024 | Submitted Feb. 2, 2024 | Language it
Copyright © 2024 Matteo Vagelli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
