Rush Rhees (1905-1989) taught philosophy at the University of Swansea from 1940 to 1966, where he was subsequently made an Honorary Professor and Fellow. Among his principal teachers he included Alfred Kastil, John Anderson, G.E. Moore and, above all, Ludwig Wittgenstein. He was one of Wittgenstein's literary executors and closest friends, as well as being an outstanding philosopher in his own right.

Editor Biography

D.Z. Phillips was Professor of Philosophy Emeritus and Rush Rhees Professor Emeritus at the University of Wales, Swansea and Danforth Professor of Philosophy of Religion at Claremont Graduate University. He was also Director of the Rush Rhees Archive, Swansea and the Associated Centre for Wittgensteinian Studies. He co-edited 'Wittgenstein: Attention to Particulars' (1989), a collection in Rhees' honour, and was the editor of seven of Rhees' works published posthumously.

Note to the second edition vii

Preface: The Fundamental Problem of Philosophy viii

Note in editing xxi

Introduction xxv

Analytic table of contents xlv

Part One Philosophy and Language

I Plato, language and the growth of understanding 3

II "What is language 21

III The reality of language 33

Part Two Games and Language

IV Discussion and discourse 65

V Games, calculations, discussions and conversations 81

Part Three Beyond Wittgenstein's Builders

VI Signals and saying something 97

VII Language: a family of games? 116

VIII Understanding what is said 130

IX Wittgenstein's builders - recapitulation 151

Part Four Belonging to Language

X Conversation and institutions 173

XI Language and generality 181

XII Language, speaking and common intelligibility 210

XIII Philosophy, life and language 243

Appendix: On Wittgenstein 257

Rush Rhees: a biographical sketch 266

Index 276