O. K. Bouwsma, one of America's foremost Wittgensteinians, was also an extraordinarily dedicated and effective teacher. The present collection, assembled posthumously from his papers, includes twelve essays, all but one previously unpublished and all characterized by the humor, common sense, and wisdom that marked his classroom lectures. Ranging in subject matter from topics in Wittgenstein to Descartes to aesthetics, the pieces all show the influence of Wittgenstein. Some of the questions they raise deal with the traditional and historical background of twentieth-century philosophy- Am I dreaming? Is what I see real? Are there material objects? -while others relate to considerations peculiar to thinkers today, for example, What is Wittgenstein doing in his writing? What does philosophy have to do with language? Bouwsma wants first to understand the philosophical questions-to unknit the knit eyebrows it produces. Accordingly, his major concern is how we as thinkers, readers, writers, and speakers, separate what we understand from what we do t understand: hence his consideration, in the opening essay, of a new sensibility in the matter of our language. Always approaching the subject as a practical problem rather than as an abstract, theoretical issue, these essays demonstrate, with patience and wit, ways to achieve clarity on puzzles long thought intractable.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University of Nebraska Press
ISBN-10
0803262264
ISBN-13
9780803262263
eBay Product ID (ePID)
158370598
Product Key Features
Author
O. K. Bouwsma
Format
Trade Paperback (Us), Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Philosophy
Type
Textbook
Dimensions
Weight
476g
Height
229mm
Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Lincoln
Edited by
J. L. Craft, Ronald E. Hustwit
Author Biography
O.K. Bouwsma (1898-1978) was a professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska from 1928-1965. J. L. Craft resides in Austin, Texas. He was a student of O. K. Bouwsma at the University of Texas, and is co-editor of Bouwsma's papers. Ronald E. Hustwit is a professor of philosophy at The College of Wooster. The author of Something About O.K. Bouwsma, Hustwit has edited five works of O.K. Bouwsma's papers.