Therapeutic philosophy:|Advantages and limitations

Abstract

Wittgenstein saw philosophy as an activity of clarification and description of various language-games. Following his methodology, this thesis outlines a Wittgensteinian political philosophy that is equipped with the necessary conceptual tools to analyze the rules that govern the grammar of politics and political life. I begin by closely examining the debate regarding the relationship between philosophy, the philosopher, and the community, arguing in favor of a conception of philosophy as necessarily normative and of the philosopher as part of the community of ideas that he is analyzing. Then, I present a distinction between political philosophy and other forms of political activity, in which the former is tasked with clarifying the framework under which the latter operates. Then I examine these other forms of political activities, including the formation and adoption of political concepts and certainties, which will in turn be among the political phenomena that the philosopher aims to describe. The last chapter functions as an application of Wittgenstein political philosophy, in which I examine the contemporary discussions of gender within feminist theory, demonstrating the possible contributions of a Wittgensteinian perspective to political philosophy as well as philosophy of gender and gender politics.