On Wittgenstein’s Notion of a Surveyable Representation: Rituals, Aesthetics, and Aspect-Perception
Australasian Journal of Philosophy 100 (4):825-838 (2022)
Abstract
I demonstrate that analogies, both explicit and implicit, between Wittgenstein’s discussions of rituals, aesthetics, and aspect-perception, have important payoffs in terms of understanding his notion of a “surveyable representation” (übersichtliche Darstellung) as it applies to phenomena that are not exclusively grammatical in nature. In particular, I argue that a surveyable representation of certain anthropological and aesthetic facts allows us to see, qua form of aspect-perception, internal relations and formal connections, so that the inner nature of a ritual or the solution of an aesthetic puzzle is exhibited. This particular form of seeing both explains why Wittgenstein thought that hypothetical explanations about the origins of a ritual are irrelevant to appreciating its meaning and elucidates his understanding of rituals, which involves seeing “internal relations” and “formal connections.” The upshots of the account for work in anthropology are discussed.Author's Profile
DOI
10.1080/00048402.2021.1952458
My notes
Similar books and articles
Surveyable Representations, the "Lecture on Ethics", and Moral Philosophy.Benjamin De Mesel - 2013 - Nordic Wittgenstein Review 3 (2):41-69.
Seeing-In as Aspect Perception.Fabian Dorsch - 2016 - In Gary Kemp & Gabriele Mras (eds.), Wollheim, Wittgenstein, and Pictorial Representation: Seeing-as and Seeing-in. Routledge.
On Not Explaining Anything Away.Eran Guter & Craig Fox - 2018 - In Gabriele M. Mras, Paul Weingartner & Bernhard Ritter (eds.), Philosophy of Logic and Mathematics, Contributions to the 41st International Wittgenstein Symposium. Kirchberg am Wechsel, Austria: Austrian Ludwig Wittgenstein Society. pp. 52-54.
Aspect Perception After Wittgenstein: Seeing-as and Novelty.Michael Beaney, Brendan Harrington & Dominic Shaw (eds.) - 2015 - New York: Routledge.
Wittgenstein on Perspicuous Presentations and Grammatical Self-Knowledge.Christian Georg Martin - 2016 - Nordic Wittgenstein Review 5 (1):79-108.
Autism, aspect-perception, and neurodiversity.Janette Dinishak - 2019 - Philosophical Psychology 32 (6):874-897.
Anamorphotische Aspekte. Wittgenstein über Techniken des Sehens.David Lauer - 2008 - In Kyung-Ho Cha & Markus Rautzenberg (eds.), Der entstellte Blick. München: Fink. pp. 230-244.
Social science as the idea: Peter Winch and Wittgenstein’s heritage.Michal Sládecek - 2010 - Filozofija I Društvo 21 (3):145-162.
On Wittgenstein's notion of meaning-blindness: Its subjective, objective and aesthetic aspects.Christian Helmut Wenzel - 2010 - Philosophical Investigations 33 (3):201-219.
Representation and Reference.Frank Ankersmit - 2010 - Journal of the Philosophy of History 4 (3-4):375-409.
Wollheim, Wittgenstein, and Pictorial Representation: Seeing-as and Seeing-In.Gary Kemp & Gabriele M. Mras (eds.) - 2016 - New York: Routledge.
On Being in the World : Wittgenstein and Heidegger on Seeing Aspects.Stephen Mulhall - 1990 - Routledge.
Wittgenstein on Aspect-Perception and the Philosophy of Psychology.Stephen Mulhall - 1987 - Dissertation, University of Oxford (United Kingdom)
Analytics
Added to PP
2021-09-21
Downloads
159 (#81,079)
6 months
66 (#18,308)
2021-09-21
Downloads
159 (#81,079)
6 months
66 (#18,308)
Historical graph of downloads
Author's Profile
References found in this work
Understanding a Primitive Society.Peter Winch - 1964 - American Philosophical Quarterly 1 (4):307 - 324.
Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology and Religious Belief.Ludwig Wittgenstein & Cyril Barrett - 1968 - Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism 26 (4):554-557.
Culture and Value.Ludwig Wittgenstein, G. von Wright, Heikki Nyman & Peter Winch - 1982 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 44 (3):562-562.
Philosophical Grammar.Ludwig Wittgenstein, Rush Rhees & Anthony Kenny - 1975 - Philosophy and Rhetoric 8 (4):260-262.