Nordic Wittgenstein Review Special Issue 2015 • Wittgenstein and Forms of Life

The article explores aspects of the notion of forms of life in the Wittgensteinian tradition especially following Iris Murdoch’s lead. On the one hand, the notion signals the hardness and inexhaustible character of reality, as the background needed in order to make sense of our lives in various ways. On the other, the hardness of reality is the object of a moral work of apprehension and deepening to the point at which its distinctive character dissolves into the family of connections we have gained for ourselves. The two movements of thought are connected and necessary. 1. Approaches to forms of life In this paper I will explore aspects of the notion of forms of life in the Wittgensteinian tradition especially following Iris Murdoch’s lead. I will start though with a brief remark about Amartya Sen. Sen distinguishes between approaches based on what he call