Wittgenstein at his word

This ambitious book attempts to do just what it says on the tin: rather than offering an assessment for or against Wittgenstein’s philosophy it sets out to ‘‘say what Wittgenstein means’’. The author talks of ‘‘settling’’ for interpretation, but is also aware of the enormous controversy between scholars over which readings or approaches are to be preferred. Duncan Richter hopes to navigate this treacherous terrain by sticking close to what Wittgenstein says about his methodology (hence taking him at his word) while at the same time attending to how his approach manifests itself, not only in what he wrote about it but also in what and how he wrote on various topics––and, indeed, in what he did not write on issues of philosophical and personal importance, such as ethics and religion