Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Information, contemplation and social life; 2. Aesthetic explanation and aesthetic perplexity; 3. Wittgenstein and the fire festivals; 4. When do empirical methods by-pass the problems which trouble us?; 5. Explanation, self-clarification and solace; 6. Wittgenstein on making homeopathic magic clear; 7. Wittgenstein and obscurantism; 8. Wittgenstein on Freud's 'abominable mess'; 9. Congenital transcendentalism and 'the loneliness which is the truth about things'; Afterword; 10. Explanation and self-clarification in Frazer; 11. Explanation and self-clarification in Freud; 12. Conclusion: two cheers for the coroner's report.

Promotional Information

These essays examine Wittgenstein's reflections on the comparative claims of clarification and empirical enquiry.

Reviews

' ... the essays are excellent, both as interpretation and as criticism.' Times Literary Supplement