Rumpelstiltskin, Realism and the Realistic Spirit: Cora Diamond's Inheritance of Wittgenstein

Abstract

The lecture argues that Cora Diamond's interpretation of Wittgenstein's early and later work, and her specific attempts to apply it in religious and ethical contexts, show a willingness to sacrifice elements of Wittgenstein's signature concepts to the demands of what she calls his 'realistic spirit'. The paper also argues that this willingness relates her project to a certain understanding of modernism in the arts.