Find a commentary that sheds some light on one of Wittgenstein’s remarks in the Investigations and report on this in writing and to the class. Your report to the class will be scheduled individually, and a written report, of c. 1-2 pp. or 300-600 words, will have a default due date of the end of the day after the report to the class.
To make this report, you will need:
• a remark (or section) of interest to you,
• a question about the remark, and
• a commentary discussion that provides at least a partial answer to the question.
Remarks vary considerably in length. In the case of any but the shortest, you should focus on only a part of the remark. Indeed, a single sentence may be enough.
Your report should discuss
• the remark and its context,
• the question that it raises for you,
• the sort of answer you have found in the commentary, and
• how satisfactory you take that answer to be.
In thinking about how satisfactory the answer is, consider both how fully it answers your question and how persuasive you find the interpretation it offers.
There are two standard commentaries to the Investigations, one in several volumes:
Garth Hallett, A Companion to Wittgenstein’s “Philosophical Investigations” (Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Pr., 1977). This covers the full work.
G.P. Baker & P.M.S. Hacker, Wittgenstein: Understanding and Meaning, An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, vol. 1 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1980). Covers §§1-184.
G.P. Baker & P.M.S. Hacker, Wittgenstein: Rules, Grammar, and Necessity, An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, vol. 2 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1985). Covers §§185-242.
P.M.S. Hacker, Wittgenstein: Meaning and Mind, An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, vol. 3 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990). Covers §§243-427.
P.M.S. Hacker, Wittgenstein: Mind and Will, An Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, vol. 4 (Oxford: Blackwell, 1996). Covers §§428-693.
The first four of these books are on reserve in Lilly. They contain both general discussions of parts of the Investigations and comments on individual remarks (or sections)—or portions of them. You may need to consult the former for a general orientation concerning the vicinity of the remark or section you are discussing, but it is the more specific comments that you should focus on.
Also on reserve is a general reference to Wittgenstein’s work:
Hans Sluga, David G. Stern (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein (Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1996).
This will not give you much on individual remarks, but it can provide a more general orientation and has references to other secondary sources. And it is OK to use those—i.e., either articles or books on Wittgenstein—but, if you do, you should be careful to look for discussions of particular remarks rather than more general discussions of Wittgenstein’s views or of parts of the Investigations.