Wittgenstein’s Phenomenology: Reconsidering the Relationship of Experience and Language

Abstract

After a ten-year hiatus from philosophy, Wittgenstein’s return to Cambridge signals a
new phase in his philosophic thought: the development of a phenomenology and
phenomenological language. Although these ideas were apparently given up after a
relatively short period of time, questions persist as to what he meant by
phenomenology and its significance with respect to his later thought. The first
section comprises a brief outline of his initial conception of phenomenology, while
the second section is devoted to unfolding the question of influence as well as
illuminating the role of language in experience.