On Certainty

Name: On Certainty
ISBN: 9787563334193

路德维希·维特根斯坦 / G. E. M. / G. H. von WrightGuangxi Normal University Press2002

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Series: On Certainty
ISBN: 9787563334193

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Summary

On Certainty (Über Gewißheit) is a selection from the notebooks Wittgenstein kept during the last year and a half of his life (1949–1951), edited from his literary remains by his literary executors G. E. M. Anscombe and G. H. von Wright and first published in 1969 in a facing-page English–German edition. The book consists of more than six hundred notes of varying length, unified by a critical engagement with the anti-skeptical arguments of the British philosopher G. E. Moore: Moore raises his hands and says “Here is one hand” and “Here is another,” and claims to know for certain such common-sense propositions as “I have a body” and “The earth existed long before my birth,” yet can offer no logical proof of them. Wittgenstein asks: is it appropriate to say “I know” in this context? Are knowledge and certainty the same thing? His conclusion is that doubt itself must presuppose something beyond doubt, or doubt cannot get off the ground. Propositions that take the form of empirical statements yet are excluded from doubt and form the basis of all our judgments and actions are like the hinge on which a door turns: for the door to move, the hinge must stay still. They belong to our “world-picture” and “frame of reference”; their certainty is not established by evidence but is given in advance by our language-games and forms of life. The book has no chapter divisions; the same questions circle back and are argued against themselves again and again. It is an indispensable work for understanding the later Wittgenstein. Zhang Jinyan’s translation, based on the Anscombe edition, was one of the earliest complete Chinese versions.

Editor's review

这是一本薄薄的小书，却常被研究者视为维特根斯坦继《逻辑哲学论》《哲学研究》之后的“第三部杰作”。它不像一般哲学论著那样层层论证，而是六百多则日记式的札记，一个问题反复打转、换一种说法再说一遍，直到语言碰到了岩石。维特根斯坦在这里处理的是一个很“日常”却极难的问题：我们凭什么确信地球早就存在、自己有两只手、别人也有心灵？笛卡尔式的怀疑看似彻底，维特根斯坦却指出，怀疑这个游戏本身要能玩起来，就必须有些东西不被怀疑——门轴不动，门才转得动。书中“枢轴命题”“世界图景”“河床与基岩”等说法，如今已是当代知识论的标准词汇，影响远超哲学专业圈。张金言译本篇幅精炼、译笔克制，书前书后的编校说明也便于读者了解文本来源。适合愿意慢读、反复读的读者：它不给你结论，而是示范一种思考的姿态。

Who it's for

A good fit for

对认识论、怀疑论问题有兴趣的哲学专业学生与研究者
读过《哲学研究》、想继续追踪后期维特根斯坦思想的读者
喜欢格言式、札记式写作，愿意反复咀嚼短段落的阅读者
关心“知识”“信念”“常识”之根据的普通人文读者

Not a good fit for

希望读到体系化论证、有明确章节结论的入门读者
完全没接触过维特根斯坦、也未读过摩尔相关论文的零基础读者
偏好情节叙事或实用方法类书籍的读者

Reading tips

读前可先了解摩尔《外在世界的证明》与《维护常识》的基本主张，否则难以进入对话语境。
不必按顺序通读，可先读第1—65节，再跳读第341节前后关于“枢轴”的段落。
准备一支笔，标记反复出现的“我知道”“我确信”“不可怀疑”等表述，比较其用法差异。
一次读二三十节即可，读后合书回想，比一次吞下全书更容易把握其思路。
若有余力，可对照楼巍译《论确定性》（上海文艺出版社2024）或刘畅译《最后的哲学笔记》互参。

About the publisher

Guangxi Normal University Press China · Founded in 1986

Guangxi Normal University Press is a publisher known for literature, foreign literature and history titles. Its 1,175 books in the database show a solid accumulation in classics and prose collections, including foreign literary works such as Les Fleurs du mal: Annotated Poems of Baudelaire, Snow Country, Dubliners and The Wild Palms, as well as modern prose compilations like The Complete Prose of Zhou Zuoren. History and philosophy also hold a notable share, with titles such as Running Dogs: Clerks and Runners in Qing County Yamen and The History and Thought of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom reflecting attention to Qing local administration and modern history. In art literature there is the 16-volume Ten Bamboo Studio Painting and Calligraphy Manual. Its author resources include foreign writers Charles Baudelaire and Yasunari Kawabata, translators and annotators Liu Nanqi and Zou Bo, and scholars such as Zhong Shuhe, Bradly W. Reed and You Chenjun. As public information is limited, this characterization is based only on the books in the database, which together present a profile balancing Chinese and foreign literary classics with academic works in the humanities and social sciences.

FAQ

这本书和《论确定性》是同一本书吗？

是同一部书的不同译本。《论确实性》为张金言译，广西师范大学出版社2002年版；《论确定性》为楼巍译，上海文艺出版社2024年版，两者均据安斯康与冯·赖特编订的英德对照本译出。

没读过摩尔，能读懂吗？

可以读，但会损失一部分针对性。维特根斯坦全书是与摩尔“隔空对话”，建议先花十几分钟了解摩尔举起双手证明外界存在的论证，读起来会顺畅得多。

这本书为什么没有目录章节？

它不是按主题写成的著作，而是维特根斯坦去世前一年半的笔记选编，编者按手稿顺序排列，通行引用方式为节号（如§341），并非章节标题。

“枢轴命题”是什么意思？

指那些形式上像经验命题、却被排除在怀疑之外、构成我们一切追问与怀疑之基础的命题，如“地球早已存在”。它们如同门轴，门要转动，轴必须不动。

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About the author

路德维希·维特根斯坦 Author

Ludwig Wittgenstein is a major figure in twentieth-century Western philosophy, whose thought has had a profound influence on the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. Public information is limited, so details such as his dates of birth and death, nationality, education, and positions are not listed here one by one. This library holds five of his works, including Philosophical Investigations and an annotated edition of it, the five-volume Selected Works of Wittgenstein, and The Blue and Brown Books. These works mostly center on the meaning of language, understanding, and the limits of philosophical method, often advancing arguments through notes, short discussions, and questions; the writing is concise and intellectually charged, drawing attention in the categories of Western philosophy and philosophical reading, and is suited to readers willing to read the texts closely and follow the lines of thought.

G. E. M. Author

G. E. M. is an author about whom little public information is currently available; the library holds only one work under this name, Venerable Philippine Duchesne. The signature uses initials, and the author's full name, nationality, and dates of birth and death are not clearly recorded, so little can be said about their life. The existing work concerns the figure Philippine Duchesne and belongs to the genre of biography or hagiography, typically presenting the subject's life, faith journey, and spiritual influence in a narrative style. Such works tend to emphasize the arrangement of historical sources and the portrayal of character, with plain and respectful language, and are suited to readers interested in the relevant religious figures and historical background. Given the limited material, G. E. M.'s other writings and full range as an author remain to be further verified.