Wittgenstein and the Problem of Other Minds

Published by McGraw-Hill in 1967, this softcover edited by Harold Morick brings together essays exploring one of philosophy's most persistent puzzles through the lens of Ludwig Wittgenstein's revolutionary approach to language and mind.

The volume examines Wittgenstein's unique contribution to the philosophical problem of how we can know or understand other people's consciousness and mental states. The essays explore Wittgenstein's critique of traditional approaches to the problem and his argument that language games and forms of life provide the foundation for mutual understanding rather than introspective access to mental phenomena.

This collection of essays addresses one of philosophy's central problems while showcasing Wittgenstein's influence on 20th-century philosophical discourse. The problem of other minds—how we know that others have consciousness similar to our own—had puzzled philosophers for centuries. Wittgenstein's linguistic approach offered a revolutionary alternative to Cartesian dualism and behaviorist reductionism.

Wittgenstein's later philosophy, particularly his "Philosophical Investigations," fundamentally changed how philosophers approached questions of mind and meaning. The "other minds" problem connects to broader questions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics. This collection represents important scholarship in making Wittgenstein's complex ideas accessible to students and scholars.