Wittgenstein and Hacker: Übersichtliche Darstellung

Beth Savickey

Authors

Beth Savickey University of Winnipeg

Keywords:

representation, perspicuity, surveyability, grammar, gesture, Wittgenstein Ludwig, Hacker P.M.S.

Abstract

The concept of übersichtliche Darstellung is of fundamental significance for Wittgenstein (PI 122). Hacker translates übersichtliche Darstellung as ‘surveyable representation’ and equates it with the tabulation of grammar. He asks what surveyability means, whether examples can be found in Wittgenstein’s work, and why this method characterizes the form of account he gives. Ultimately, however, Hacker is unable to answer these questions and he attributes this failure to Wittgenstein. This paper argues that it is Hacker’s interpretation that fails, and presents an alternate (aesthetic) understanding of übersichtliche Darstellung; one that enables us to answer Hacker’s questions in a manner consistent with Wittgenstein’s philosophical practices.

Author Biography

Beth Savickey, University of Winnipeg

Beth Savickey is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. She is the author of Wittgenstein’s Art of Investigation (Routledge). Her current research explores the similarities between Wittgenstein’s grammatical investigations, commedia dell'arte, and slapstick, as well as the relationship between language games and Brechtian theatre.

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