The Later Wittgenstein and Classical Pragmatism: A Critical Appraisal by Dr. William G. Toland (abstract plus bibliography)

In the mid-1960s, my grandfather earned his Doctorate in Philosophy with a thesis that I have since read. I thought it would be interesting to republish the abstract, and the bibliography he used to write it. I am not a student of philosophy by any stretch of the imagination, and I always admired him for being able to wrap his head around these concepts.

WILLIAM GIPSY TOLAND. The Later Wittgenstein and Classical Pragmatism: A Critical Appraisal. (Under the direction of ELIE MAYNARD ADAMS.)

This essay is a critical inquiry into the Later Wittgenstein and Classical Pragmatism with respect to Aim and Method, Theory of Meaning, and Philosophy of Language. Some contemporary philosophers find evidences of pragmatism in the later Wittgenstein’s major work, the Philosophical Investigations, particularly in the areas of meaning and language. This dissertation attempts to show the sense in which such findings are justified.

It is shown that the statements of the aim of Pragmatism are inconsistent and, if realized, would make of philosophy a handmaiden to the sciences. The pragmatic method is a kind of analysis by which the meanings of ideas and beliefs are explicated so that traditional metaphysical problems may be solved or resolved, and so that persons may more effectively make their way about in indeterminate life situations.

An appraisal of the pragmatic theory of meaning reveals that the meaning of ideas, beliefs, concepts, and linguistic expressions is always a function of their use in our language. This is shown to involve the view that the meaning of expression is the experience one has in saying or hearing it.

The aim of the later Wittgenstein is to show the philosopher how to order his knowledge of the uses of our ordinary language so that he may be relieved of endemic philosophical perplexities, confusion, anxieties, and puzzlement. The method by which he attempts to accomplish this aim is categorical analysis. This involves a description of the uses of significant concepts in ordinary language so that be seeing their roles in different regions of language the philosopher will realize that forcing them into other roles constitutes the source of traditional philosophical problems.

Typical of these problems is the “What is the meaning?” question, which suggests that there is one meaning of a word that can be had provided the proper method of analysis is applied. Wittgenstein shows, on the other hand, that in a large number of cases in which the meaning of a word is in question its meaning is its use in our language. Among many uses of ‘use’ Wittgenstein places considerable emphasis on the ‘effective’ or pragmatic use, but it is not enough to justify the view that he has a pragmatic theory of meaning. The meaning of a word in the latter theory is its use to guide behavior in problematic situations and ordinary forms of life, but for Wittgenstein each word has its own logic or use.

Among the differences between Wittgenstein’s view of language and that of the Pragmatists, the following points are central. Peirce felt that philosophy needs a language peculiar to itself, but Wittgenstein’s view is that philosophy can be done within ordinary language. Dewey views language as a broader phenomenon that does Wittgenstein, more akin to the latter’s “language-game.” For Dewey all language is instrumental, whereas Wittgenstein holds that the logic of some sentences does not include an instrumental function. In the Investigations the function of language is not always to convey thought, but for Dewey communication is the factor that determines language as such. The Pragmatists attempt to outline a theory of language, but Wittgenstein does not attempt to advance any kind of theory.

Despite these dissimilarities Wittgenstein’s remarks concerning “language-game” closely resembles Dewey’s discussion points concerning language. Throughout his investigations there are remarks that warrant ascription of a prope-pragmatism to the later Wittgenstein, and there is evidence to justify the view that his work contains a pragmatic philosophy of language.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Adams, Elie Maynard (ed.). Categorial Analysis: Selected Essays of Everett W. Hall. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1964.

Alston, William P. Philosophy of Language. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1964.

Austin, John Langshaw. How To Do Things With Words. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965.

Carnap, Rudolf. Meaning and Necessity. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1947.

Charlesworth, Maxwell John. Philosophy and Linguistics Analysis. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press, 1959.

Copi, Irving M. Introduction to Logic. 2d ed. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1961.

Cornman, James W. Metaphysics, Reference, and Language. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966.

Dewey, John. Essays in Experimental Logic. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1916.

Dewey, John. Experience and Nature. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1958.

Dewey, John. Logic: The Theory of Inquiry. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., 1938.

Dixon, Robert Malcom Ward. What Is Language? London: Longmans, Green and Company, Ltd., 1965.

Feibleman, James Kern. Inside the Great Mirror. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1958.

Gellner, Ernest. Words and Things. Boston: Beacon Press, 1959.

Haas, William Paul, O. P. The Conception of Law and The Unity of Peirce’s Philosophy. Notre Dame, Indiana: The University of Notre Dame Press, 1964.

Hall, Everett Wesley. Philosophical Systems. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1960.

Hawkins, Denis John Bernard. Crucial Problems of Modern Philosophy. New York: Sheed and Ward, Inc., 1957.

James, William. Collected Essays and Reviews. London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1920.

__________. Pragmatism. New York: Meridian Books, 1955.

__________. Principles of Psychology. 2 vols. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1892.

Katz, Jerrold J. The Philosophy of Language. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1966.

Lewis, Clarence Irving. Mind and the World Order. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1956.

Mesthene, Emmanuel G. How Language Makes Us Know. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1964.

Passmore, John Arthur. A Hundred Years of Philosophy. London: Gerald Duckworth and Company, Ltd., 1958.

Paul, G. A., et al. The Revolution in Philosophy. London: Macmillan and Company, Ltd., 1957.

Peirce, Charles Sanders. Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce. 8 vols. Edited by Charles Hartshorne, Paul Weiss, and Arthur W. Burks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1931-58.

__________. Philosophical Writings of Peirce. Edited by Justus Buchler. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1955.

Pitcher, George Willard. The Philosophy of Wittgenstein. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.

Pole, David. The Later Philosophy of Wittgenstein. London: The Athlone Press, 1958.

Ramsey, Frank Plumpton. The Foundations of Mathematics. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1931.

Russell, Bertrand. Philosophy. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1927.

Schiller, Ferdinand Canning Scott. Logic for Use. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1930.

__________. Studies in Humanism. London: Macmillan and Company, Ltd., n.d.

Waismann, Friedrich. The Principles of Linguistic Philosophy. London: Macmillan and Company, Ltd., 1965.

White, Morton Gabriel. The Age of Analysis. New York: The New American Library of Literature, Inc., 1955.

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical Investigations. 2d ed. Translated by G. E. M. Anscombe. Oxford: Basil Blackwell & Mott, Ltd., 1958.

__________. The Blue and Brown Books. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1958.

__________. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., 1922.


Articles and Periodicals
Alston, William Payne. “Meaning and Use,” Philosophical Quarterly, XIII (April, 1963), 107-124.

Balz, Albert G. A., and Dewey, John. “A Letter to Mr. Dewey Concering John Dewey’s Doctrine of Possibility, Published Together With His Reply,” The Journal of Philosophy, XLVI (May, 1949), 313-42.

Chomsky, Noam. “Current Issues in Linguistic Theory,” The Structure of Language. Edited by Jerry A. Fodor and Jerrold J. Katz. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.

Cowan, Joseph Lloyd. “Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Logic,” The Philosophical Review, LXX (July, 1961), 362-75.

Evans, J. L. “On Meaning and Verification,” Mind, LXII (January, 1953), 1-19.

Feyerabend, Paul. “Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations,” The Philosophical Review, LXIV (July, 1955), 449-83.

Haas, W. “On Speaking a Language,” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, N.S., LI (1950-51), 129-66.

Heath, P. L. “Wittgenstein Investigated,” The Philosophical Quarterly, VI (January, 1956), 66-71.

Hook, Sidney. “Pragmatism and Existentialism,” Antioch Review, XIX (Summer, 1959), 151-68.

MacIver, A. M. “The Instrumentality of Language,” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, N.S., LXII (1961-62), 1-20.

Malcolm, Norman. “Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations,” The Philosophical Review, LXIII (October, 1954), 530-59.

Moore, George Edward. “Wittgenstein’s Lectures in 1930-33,” Mind, LXIII (January; July, 1954), 1-15, 289-316; LXIV (January, 1955), 1-27.

Rorty, Richard. “Pragmatism, Categories, and Language,” The Philosophical Review, LXX (April, 1961), 197-223.

Ryle, Gilbert. “Ordinary Language,” The Philosophical Review, LXII (April, 1953), 167-86.

Stebbing, L. Susan. “Logical Positivism and Analysis,” Proceedings of the British Academy, XIX (1933), 53-87.

__________. “The Method of Analysis in Metaphysics,” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, N.S., XXXIII (1932-33), 65-94.

Waismann, Friedrich. “Verfiability,” Logic and Language, First and Second Series. Edited by Antony Flew. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1965.

Wisdom, John. “Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1934-1937,” Mind, LXI (April, 1952), 258-60.


Unpublished Manuscript

Lanfear, Ray. “An Analysis and Evaluation of Wittgenstein’s Locution: Meaning as ‘Use.’” Unpublished Master’s thesis, Baylor University, 1964.

Betty White: First Lady of Television (2018)

This documentary benefits from its lovable subject.

After almost seventy years on television, and some feature films, Betty White is finally slowing down (a little). Up for interviews are former co-stars, with some clips from her first forays into television, her marriage to Allen Ludden, and her sudden second career that started in the early 2000s.

She's a talented, funny actress, but the film makers don't go for a complete picture of her work and life. Ignored are her other sitcoms besides "Life With Elizabeth," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Golden Girls," and "Hot in Cleveland." Some spoiler footage from "The Lost Valentine" is played to show her versatility. Everyone loves Betty, and it comes through in the interviews, which seemed to be shot at different times or taken from other documentaries, and the amount of people who have passed away now is shocking (Betty White will be 99 next month as of this writing).

Funny clips, some interesting biographical information, a lovable subject, but there's got to be more out there than just this. Less than an hour is NOT enough time to cover seventy years.

Stats:
-Directed by Steve Boettcher
-Cast: Betty White, Valerie Bertinelli, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Reynolds, Carl Reiner, Valerie Harper, Tom Sullivan, Kiersten Mikelas, Jeff Witjas
-Media: Streaming on Amazon Prime
-Running Time: 57 minutes
-Letterboxd rating: (* * */* * * * *); IMDb rating: 6/10
-MPAA Unrated, contains some sexual references, some adult situations

Holiday in Handcuffs (2007)

Despite the title, NOT an adult film, and oh, how the mighty have fallen! I don't mean the medium-name cast, I'm talking about director Ron Underwood, who helmed the cult classic "Tremors," as well as "City Slickers," "Heart and Souls," "Speechless," "Mighty Joe Young," and, oh, yeah..."The Adventures of Pluto Nash"...okay, I understand now. Melissa Joan Hart plays a quirky artist whose jerk Wall Street boyfriend (this film is VERY anti-Wall Street, anti-capitalism, etc.) breaks up with her. She kidnaps Mario Lopez, who has his own awful but rich girlfriend, and presents him as her beau at the family gathering at a conveniently isolated cabin in the woods. Assorted family secrets eventually come out, as Hart and Lopez grow closer. June Lockhart fails miserably in the wild grandma role probably written for Betty White, and the plot is preposterous and predictable. Hart has a few funny scenes, but unless you've never seen a Hallmark Channel film before (this debuted on the old ABC Family Channel, hence it's mild edginess), this can run dull.

Stats:
-Directed by Ron Underwood
-Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Mario Lopez, Markie Post, Timothy Bottoms, June Lockhart, Kyle Howard, Vanessa Evigan, Gabrielle Miller
-Media: DVD
-Running Time: 86 minutes
-Letterboxd Rating: (* * */* * * * *); IMDb Rating: 6/10

Serviced with a Smile (1979)

This is a French porno badly dubbed into English, and released on an unsuspecting grindhouse crowd. Bored and beautiful housewife Barbara (Brigitte Lahaie) and her husband take in a mysterious butler, who promptly turns their household upside down sexually. The film is also a bore, despite Lahaie being easy on the eyes. Yeah, nothing more bourgeois than a loving monogamous relationship! Lahaie, as opposed to many adult film performers (I refuse to use the term "star"), is still around and mystified by the fascination with her early films. Honestly, there is nothing sadder than the pornography industry, a topic that is both taboo but also pulling in billions of dollars every year. Performers' careers are short-lived, but the effect on their bodies and mental state are lifetime sentences. You rarely see performers who handled their choices well, with many of them turning to alcohol, drugs, and suffering early deaths. I pity the performers here, and their inability to lead normal lives- you can't commit this kind of intimacy to film and not experience some kind of shame and guilt no matter how actors, actresses, and crew have justified it over the past few decades; with many having to explain what they did to their own children- I cannot even imagine what that would do to any offspring- child or adult. Also known as "Couple Cherche Esclave Sexuel."

Stats:
-Directed by Jean-Claude Roy as "Patrick Aubin"
-Cast: Brigitte Lahaie, Nicole Velna, Alban Ceray, Dominique Aveline, Marie-Claude Viollet, Hubert Geral
-Media: DVD
-IMDb Rating: 1/10

"Bonanza" {"A Passion for Justice" #5.2} (1963)

Jonathan Harris brings his Dr. Smith character from "Lost in Space" out to the Ponderosa, portraying author Charles Dickens as a mincing snob in this badly written episode.

Ben (Lorne Greene) and a Virginia City literary society invite Charles Dickens (Jonathan Harris) out west to give a presentation of his works. The ruffians in town surprisingly know Dickens' works, thanks to their publication by Sam Walker (Frank Albertson) in the local newspaper. What the townspeople don't know is that Dickens never authorized the American serialization of his novels, and soon browbeats the townsfolk for stealing from him. Walker's printing equipment is destroyed, Dickens is implicated, and soon a trial is on with absolutely no suspense in its outcome and repercussions.

This misstep in the series feels off-kilter from the beginning. Instead of portraying Dickens as slightly haughty or even a little snobbish, Harris portrays him as an ass of the highest order, turning off the townspeople and the audience. No one is concerned that this child inmate of a debtors' prison is getting cheated out of money that is rightfully his, I saw no motivation why he doesn't defend himself in his trial- telling people the real reason he was in Walker's office when the damage was found (the screenwriter also dropped the ball here, as the real culprit is made more than obvious). Harris' final scene as Dickens is fantastic, he does a 180 and plays him as he should have been playing him for the last forty-eight minutes, with the exception of another nicely done bit with Dickens working with Hoss (Dan Blocker).

Of course, the Cartwrights know better than everyone else all along, but this episode is such a turn-off, I was thankful when it ended. I still love Dickens' work, Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels, but based on this episode alone, Dickens is a jerk.

Stats:
-Directed by Murray Golden
-Written by Peter Packer
-Cast: Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, Jonathan Harris, Victor Maddern, Frank Albertson, Ray Teal
-Media: DVD
-Running Time: 56 minutes
-(* * 1/2/* * * * *); IMDb rating: 5/10
-Contains very mild physical violence, very mild gun violence, mild alcohol use

Book Review: "Kops and Custards: The Legend of Keystone Films" by Kalton C. Lahue and Terry Brewer

"Kops and Custards" is a history of Mack Sennett's Keystone Films. It recounts a little bit of Sennett's background and how he founded Keystone Pictures, and how he eventually lost his fun factory through shady financial dealings. While the book is effective in recounting how Sennett had to work hard to convince others that his comedy theories would work on film, it does tend to confuse the reader by throwing in too many facts and figures concerning the finances of Keystone Corporation.

Half of the book concerns who bought what, financed this, then sold it for less to others. The amount of names brought up is dizzying, and not very enlightening. The other half of the book concerns the daily running of the studio, and the many comedians who passed in and out of Keystone's doors. Sennett's relationship with Mabel Normand is touched upon, although no explored thoroughly. Charlie Chaplin is not mentioned as often as he should have been. He is treated as just another actor who left the studio for broader horizons. One interesting fact that came out of the book was the rising film career of Charlie's brother, Sydney Chaplin, at Keystone. Sydney's career could have been very successful if he hadn't turned his sights on his brother.

Another problem with the book is the arrogant attitude it takes toward its subjects. Authors Lahue and Brewer constantly discount stories Sennett and Chaplin told in their autobiographies. The authors make many of the major players of that era as simple-minded buffoons whose only concern was money. I do not think I can recommend this book. For studying Charlie Chaplin, it doesn't cover any new ground. If you are interested in the financial goings-on of Keystone, then this book would be helpful. The book's text is just 134 pages. The book features a very impressive appendix listing all the known Keystone comedies from September 1912 through September 1917. Also listed is a bibliography, titles index, and a general index.

"Bonanza" {"Rain from Heaven" #5.3} (1963)

Another misstep in the season finds the Cartwrights hosting a rainmaker during a terrible drought.

Tulsa Weems (John Anderson) and his family arrive in Virginia City, and for a couple of hundred dollars, will make it rain again. In tow are his wife ('60's TV mainstay Claudia Bryar), uppity son Jube (Mickey Sholdar), and his sick daughter Mary Beth (Eileen Chesis). Ben (Lorne Greene) is the only person in town who doesn't kick in money for Weems' services, and Tulsa is infuriated with him since rainmaking is doing the Lord's work (in many an embarrassing scene). Ben offers the family his home after Tulsa is locked up for a half-hearted attack on Ben, but they don't take charity. They eventually break into the Cartwright barn, sure, they don't take charity, but they do what they need to to survive.

As the family waits outside, still not taking charity, Hoss (Dan Blocker) brings Mary Beth into the house and locks her up in a bedroom. She has typhoid fever, and Hoss believes that some itchy cold compresses will cure her of the disease. Tulsa begins his rainmaking ceremony as his family still don't take charity, and his actions may or may not work. Oh, and his family don't take charity.

This misfire is very padded, with repetitious lines and situations. I was sick to death of hearing the family's justification for not taking charity, despite Anderson's good performance. Pernell Roberts has just one line and ducks out of the episode after the first two minutes. Another mistake made is dubbing in Mary Beth's moaning, which is unintentionally hilarious. Tulsa's rainmaking efforts, involving a teeny cannon and stock footage of fireworks, also runs too long. Hoss locking himself in a bedroom with a ten year old girl is a little weird, as well. The episode feels forced and stale, and the abrupt conclusion wraps everything up in a couple of minutes, with no consequences, or word from Roberts' Adam.

A definite letdown, I hope the rest of the season improves from this.

Stats:
-Directed by Lewis Allen
-Written by Robert Vincent Wright
Cast: Lorne Greene, Dan Blocker, Pernell Roberts, Michael Landon, John Anderson, Ray Teal, Claudia Bryar, Mickey Sholdar, Eileen Chesis
Media: DVD
Running Time: 56 minutes
(* */* * * * *); IMDb rating: 4/10
Contains very mild physical violence, very mild gun violence, alcohol use