An Historiographic Label, its Evidence, its Misunderstanding and its Future: Wittgensteinian Thomism

Abstract

The aim of my paper is to explain the label Wittgensteinian Thomism and to show its relevance in the history of contemporary philosophy. I will proceed through three steps. First of all, I will take the birth of this label into consideration. In the second step I will study in detail Wittgenstein’s references to Aquinas. The fact that Wittgenstein possessed the first two volumes of the Summa Theologica is well-known, but the influence that Aquinas had on Wittgenstein must be clarified. I will conclude distinguishing two different levels in the use of the label Wittgensteinian Thomism: it can be appreciated as an historiographical or as a theoretical tool.