Winds of Change: The Later Wittgenstein’s Conception of the Dynamics of Change

Abstract

The theme of change is one of the most prominent traits of Wittgenstein’s later work, and his writings have inspired many contemporary thinkers’ discussions of changes in e.g. concepts, ‘aspect-seeing’, practices, worldviews, and forms of life. However, Wittgenstein’s conception of the dynamics of change has not been investigated in its own right.
 The aim of this paper is to investigate which understanding of the dynamics of changes can be found in the later Wittgenstein’s work. I will argue that what emerges is a rich and complex picture that has the potential to aid our thinking in politics and elsewhere when developing strategies for creating changes. It can do so both as source of inspiration and by countering tempting, yet ultimately problematic ways of conceptualizing change like the hope for transforming harmful traditions and social practices with the help of a general explanatory theory of the fundamental dynamics of changes.

On Certainty, Change, and “Mathematical Hinges”

“… (Wilson 2006: 279, 566) also raises some worries about Wittgenstein's ability to understand the complexities of conceptual change in real-world mathematical cases. Wilson (2020) is more circumspect about this judgment.6 SeeEriksen (2020) for another recent discussion of Wittgenstein on the "dynamics of change." Understanding the dynamics of change is of course also central to the large, on-going project of making sense of mathematical progress more generally.…”