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(1994) Living doubt, Dordrecht, Springer.
In On Certainty Wittgenstein remarked "So I am trying to say something that sounds like pragmatism" (Wittgenstein 1969:422).1 It is rather difficult to determine precisely what Wittgenstein was trying to say that sounds like pragmatism. It is even more difficult to interpret the remark that immediately follows, "Here I am being thwarted by a kind of Weltanschauung" No matter what Weltanschauung was thwarting him, however, Wittgenstein did say several things in On Certainty that sound like pragmatism. He especially said several things that sound like Peirce's pragmaticism. (My copy of On Certainty is littered with marginal "Cf. CSP" notes). This paper will point out some of the Peircean aspects of Wittgenstein's epistemology, exploring the similarities and differences. It will be clear that Wittgenstein was not a pragmaticist, but, coming from a radically different perspective, he did reach several conclusions similar to those of Peirce. I will not be claiming that Wittgenstein was directly influenced by Peirce, nor will I be looking for evidence of historical influence. Any awareness Wittgenstein had of Peirce was probably second hand, and the pragmatism he talked of was probably a very generic variety.2
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-015-8252-0_17
Full citation:
Johanson, A. E. (1994)., Peirce and Wittgenstein's on certainty, in G. Debrock & M. Hulswit (eds.), Living doubt, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 171-186.
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