The Contemporary Significance of Ordinary Language Philosophy

The Contemporary Significance of Ordinary Language Philosophy

In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in the main
representatives of the so-called ordinary language tradition in 20th
century analytic philosophy. The overall aim of the conference is to
contribute to this revival of interest, by considering how the works of
thinkers in this tradition might be still be relevant, and how careful
investigations of ordinary language use can matter to issues at the top
of today's philosophical agenda. In this connection, it will be
important to take into account the many differences in philosophical
outlook and methodology that exist between philosophers such as
Wittgenstein, Austin, Ryle, Strawson and so on. The question of how deep
these differences go, and, indeed, whether we can talk of an ordinary
language "tradition" here at all, should lead us to consider the
character of the contemporary revival mentioned above. To what extent
can this revival usefully be described as a unified movement motivated
by a common dissatisfaction with more mainstream forms of analytic
philosophy? And to what extent do the differences between the various
contemporary attempts at revival make such a description misleading?