Wittgenstein

Wittgenstein's early and later writings are united by a novel and creative approach to philosophical questions. His idea is that philosophical questions are not deep or substantial, but are rather based on underlying confusions or errors. The way to 'answer' philosophical questions is not, therefore, to give answers, but is rather to diagnose the errors which are their source. This turns on its head our conception of what a philosopher is (or ought to be). Rather than a seeker of abstract and eternal truths, the philosopher is (or ought to be) a therapist who seeks to bring an end to his own discipline.