Language and ethics : a Wittgensteinian perspective

Using a Wittgensteinian view of language to provide a novel account of how metaphors function, I argue for the importance of imagination and creativity (as opposed to reason and discovery) in bringing about intellectual and moral change or progress. Those who first extended the use of terms like 'equality' or 'person' to apply to women are seen as being more akin to poets than to logicians. Wittgenstein's notion of family resemblance concepts is shown to be central to his later conception of philosophy, and elements in his later philosophy are revealed as having several parallels with Aristotelian contextualist approaches to ethics. In the process, serious doubt is placed upon Wittgenstein's contention that philosophy leaves everything as it is