Teaching and Learning in Wittgenstein’s Philosophic Method

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Ludwig Wittgenstein’s depiction of pedagogical scenes are increasingly prominent in his later writing and in the secondary literature surrounding it. This essay offers a synoptic view of the role teaching and learning examples play in Wittgenstein’s later philosophic method, seeing them as a “pedagogical way of doing philosophy.” For the philosopher of education, I pose the challenge of not fetishizing the scenes of instruction. “A poet’s words can pierce us,” Wittgenstein reminds us, because of “the way in which, comfortable to this use, we let our thoughts roam up and down in the familiar surroundings of the words.” His preoccupation with “teach,” “learn,” “train,” “education,” and “pupil” draws us in when reading these scenes, partly obscuring their philosophical significance.