This is a new edition of the first volume of G.P.Baker and P.M.S. Hacker’s definitive reference work on Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations.

• New edition of the first volume of the monumental four-volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations.

• Takes into account much material that was unavailable when the first edition was written.

• Following Baker’s death in 2002, P.M.S. Hacker has thoroughly revised the first volume, rewriting many essays and sections of exegesis completely.

• Part One - the Essays - now includes two completely new essays: 'Meaning and Use' and 'The Recantation of a Metaphysician'.

• Part Two - Exegesis §§1-184 - has been thoroughly revised in the light of the electronic publication of Wittgenstein’s Nachlass, and includes many new interpretations of the remarks, a history of the composition of the book, and an overview of its structure.

• The revisions will ensure that this remains the definitive reference work on Wittgenstein’s masterpiece for the foreseeable future.

This new edition of the definitive reference work on Wittgenstein's essays on language and exegesis includes material not available for the four-volume edition published between 1980 and 1996. This edition also makes extensive use of the Nachlass to interpret Wittgenstein's remarks and research subsequent to the previous edition. In addition, Hacker (philosophy, Oxford U.) has revised his commentary considerably. Hacker includes Wittgenstein's work on the Augustinian conception of language, explanation, the language-game method, descriptions and the use of sentences, ostensive definition, indexicals, proper names and logically proper names, meaning and use, contextual dicta and principles, the standard meter, "family resemblance," metaphysics, philosophy, surveyability and surveyable representations, truth and the general propositional form, and understanding and ability.
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"The essays...are scholarly, and profound, and also acute, confident, and full of good sense and judgment" (Colin Radford,Mind)

"This book is a landmark in Wittgenstein studies, raising to a new level the criteria for an adequate understanding of Wittgenstein." (Philosophical Studies)

"For someone who wants to understand, point for point and in detail, how Wittgenstein's later philosophy upsets the philosophies of Russell, Frege and the Tractatus, this is the book to read." (Philosophical Books)

"[The authors'] interpretive essays develop with care, subtlety, and in considerable detail...they have performed a great service in presenting the programmatic views clearly, carefully and dispassionately."

--James Bogen

"Wittgenstein: Meaning and Understanding is a sort of compendium which I wouldn’t want to do without. As a matter of fact, I cannot do without it, both in the sense that I need it to get all kinds of historical or philological information, as well as philosophical stimulation, and in the sense that I have become addicted to the book's magisterial way of bringing out and dealing with the difficulties of Wittgenstein’s masterpiece."

--Joachim Schulte, University of Bielefeld

Published to widespread acclaim between 1980 and 1996, the monumental four- volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations has become the definitive reference work on Wittgenstein’s masterpiece. This revised edition of Volume I, Wittgenstein: Understanding and Meaning, which itself comprises two parts (‘Essays’ and ‘Exegesis §§1–184’), takes into account much material that was unavailable when the first edition was written. Following G.P. Baker’s death in 2002, P.M.S. Hacker has thoroughly revised both parts, rewriting many sections completely and often proposing fresh interpretations. Part I: Essaysnow includes two new essays: ‘Meaning and Use’ and ‘The Recantation of a Metaphysician’, while Part II: Exegesis §§1–184has been exhaustively reworked in the light of the electronic publication of Wittgenstein’s Nachlass. These revisions will ensure that this remains the essential reference work on the Philosophical Investigationsfor the foreseeable future.

This is a new edition of the first volume of G.P.Baker and P.M.S. Hacker's definitive reference work on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations.

* New edition of the first volume of the monumental four-volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations.

* Takes into account much material that was unavailable when the first edition was written.

* Following Baker's death in 2002, P.M.S. Hacker has thoroughly revised the first volume, rewriting many essays and sections of exegesis completely.

* Part One - the Essays - now includes two completely new essays: 'Meaning and Use' and 'The Recantation of a Metaphysician'.

* Part Two - Exegesis ??1-184 - has been thoroughly revised in the light of the electronic publication of Wittgenstein's Nachlass, and includes many new interpretations of the remarks, a history of the composition of the book, and an overview of its structure.

* The revisions will ensure that this remains the definitive reference work on Wittgenstein's masterpiece for the foreseeable future.

G.P. Bakerwas a Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford from 1967 until his death in 2002. He is the co-author with P.M.S. Hacker of the first two volumes of the four-volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations(Blackwell, 1980–96), and with Katherine Morris of Descartes’ Dualism(1996). He also wrote numerous articles on Wittgenstein, Frege, Russell, Waismann and Descartes.

P.M.S. Hackeris the leading authority on the philosophy of Wittgenstein. He is author of the four-volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations, the first two volumes co-authored with G.P. Baker, (Blackwell, 1980–96) and of Wittgenstein’s Place in Twentieth-century Analytic Philosophy (Blackwell, 1996). He has also written extensively on philosophy of language and philosophy of mind, most recently The Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience (Blackwell, 2003), co-authored with M.R. Bennett.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction to Part 1 - the Essays.

Abbreviations.

I. THE AUGUSTINIAN CONCEPTION OF LANGUAGE (?1).

II. EXPLANATION (?6).

III. THE LANGUAGE-GAME METHOD (?7).

IV. DESCRIPTIONS AND THE USES OF SENTENCES (?18).

V. OSTENSIVE DEFINITION AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS (?28).

VI. INDEXICALS (?39).

VII. LOGICALLY PROPER NAMES (?39).

VIII. MEANING AND USE (?43).

IX. CONTEXTUAL DICTA AND CONTEXTUAL PRINCIPLES (?50).

X. THE STANDARD METRE (?50).

XI. FAMILY RESEMBLANCE (?65).

XII. PROPER NAMES (?79).

XIII. TURNING THE EXAMINATION AROUND: THE RECANTATION OF A METAPHYSICIAN (?89).

XIV. PHILOSOPHY (?109).

XV. SURVEYABILITY AND SURVEYABLE REPRESENTATIONS (?122).

XVI. TRUTH AND THE GENERAL PROPOSITIONAL FORM (?134).

XVII. UNDERSTANDING AND ABILITY (?143).

INDEX.