Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-74656f9884-j7cmm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-08T16:41:42.838Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
Coming soon

Wittgenstein on Time

Expected online publication date:  09 November 2026

Ondřej Beran
Affiliation:
University of Pardubice

Summary

This Element charts Wittgenstein's reflections on time. In TLP, there is a tension between time as a form of objects and reflections on living in time and in eternity. After 1929, Wittgenstein briefly proposes a 'phenomenological language', incorporating temporal coordinates, but rejects it in favour of 'phenomenological' investigations of our various notions of time, with an interest in memory. Later, he becomes preoccupied with the dissolution of philosophical misconceptions about time and eventually loses interest in time as an independent topic. In PI, time primarily exemplifies the philosophical difficulties posed by the (surface) grammar of language. Wittgenstein's late reflections on time-related notions are piecemeal and suggest understanding the passage of time in morally loaded terms; this is how the later Wittgenstein's philosophy is developed by David Cockburn. The last section briefly presents the complex and extensive Wittgenstein-inspired philosophical treatments of time in the work of G.E.M. Anscombe and Cockburn.

Information

Save element to Kindle

To save this element to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Wittgenstein on Time
  • Ondřej Beran, University of Pardubice
  • Online ISBN: 9781009623100
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
×

Save element to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Wittgenstein on Time
  • Ondřej Beran, University of Pardubice
  • Online ISBN: 9781009623100
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
×

Save element to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Wittgenstein on Time
  • Ondřej Beran, University of Pardubice
  • Online ISBN: 9781009623100
Available formats No formats are currently available for this content.
×