Reading On Certainty through the Lens of Cavell: Scepticism, Dogmatism and the 'Groundlessness of our Believing'

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International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 21, 4, (2013), pp. 515-533ISSN
Annotation
16 april 2013
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
Leerstoel Fundamentele filosofie
Former Organization
Kernleerstoel Fundamentele Filosofie
Journal title
International Journal of Philosophical Studies
Volume
vol. 21
Issue
iss. 4
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 515
Page end
p. 533
Subject
Centre for Contemporary European Philosophy (CCEP); Center for Contemporary European Philosophy (CCEP)Abstract
While Cavell is well known for his reinterpretation of the later Wittgenstein, he has never really engaged himself with post-Investigations writings like On Certainty. This collection may, however, seem to undermine the profoundly anti-dogmatic reading of Wittgenstein that Cavell has developed. In addition to apparently arguing against what Cavell calls ‘the truth of skepticism’ – a phrase contested by other Wittgensteinians – On Certainty may seem to justify the rejection of whoever dares to question one’s basic presuppositions. According to On Certainty, or so it seems, the only right response to someone with different certainties is a reproach like ‘Fool!’ or ‘Heretic!’. This article aims to show that On Certainty need not be taken to prove Cavell wrong. It explains that Wittgenstein, in line with the first two parts of The Claim of Reason, does not reject scepticism out of hand but rather questions the sceptic’s self-understanding. Using arguments from Part Three of The Claim, the article moreover argues that a confrontation with divergence calls for self-examination rather than self-righteousness. Precisely because Wittgenstein acknowledges ‘the groundlessness of our believing’ or, in Cavellian terms, ‘the truth of skepticism’, he is not the authoritarian thinker that some have taken him to be.
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- Academic publications [202736]
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- Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies [10868]
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