A Critical Assessment Of The Linguistic Turn Movement In Philosophy: With Special Reference To Wittgenstein

Abstract

The philosophical quest to know the unknown has resulted into the discovery of numerous methodologies from time to time. Different methodologies dominated the discipline at different eras. Analysis of language is one such methodology suggested by the school of analytic philosophy in the modern period. This linguistic analysis of philosophical concerns was the outcome of the widespread movement called ‘linguistic turn’ which impacted not only philosophy but also other disciplines like literature, sociology etc. Frege, Moore, Russell and Wittgenstein are the prominent philosophers who have ignited the wave of linguistic turn movement in philosophy. In this paper my primary aim is to discuss at length the importance of the linguistic turn movement in philosophy and how the works of Wittgenstein have motivated the domain of philosophy to take a turn towards the analysis of language. This paper highlights the contributions of Wittgenstein and the impact of his works in prompting the linguistic turn in philosophy.