NB! RESCHEDULED: Rico Gutschmidt: Neither Context nor Foundation - Wittgenstein and Cavell on Acknowledgement in Skepticism
Dr. Rico Gutschmidt from Technische Universität Dresden will give a guest lecture on Friday 29 May in room 210 in Sydnesplassen 12/13.
Main content
Abstract
The relation of Wittgenstein's later philosophy to skepticism seems to be ambiguous, since he rejects radical skepticism but also highlights the groundlessness of our beliefs. In my presentation, I am going to discuss Wittgenstein's hinge propositions in this respect. Against the usual view, I will show that they do not function as a contextualist or foundationalist refutation of skepticism. What is more, they also do not confirm skepticism. In contrast, I will argue that following Wittgenstein skepticism is neither false nor true, but describes our finite situation in respect to our knowledge. This is in line with Stanley Cavells truth of skepticism, which roughly states that we can not know about the existence of the world and the others, but that we have to acknowledge them. With the help of Wittgenstein, I am going to clarify this position. The key idea is that our practice can not be theoretically secured, but rests on a practical certainty, which has to be and can be acknowledged.
About Gutschmidt
Dr. Rico Gutschmidt teaches Philosophy at the Technische Universitaet Dresden. He has a Diplom in Mathematics from the University of Bonn (2004) as well as his Ph.D. in Philosophy (Einheit ohne Fundament. Eine Studie zum Reduktionsproblem in der Physik Frankfurt am Main: Ontos, 2009) from Bonn. He continues to work on problems in the philosophy of physics, especially on reductionism and the relations of intertheoretic entities. Much of his current research focuses on the writings of the later Heidegger and the later Wittgenstein.
