The centrality of aesthetics for Wittgenstein's philosophical thought

Ludwig Wittgenstein's (1889-1951) conception of philosophy, and its implications, are still the subject of a vivid debate. The aim of my project is to examine different key aspects of this conception in the light of his claim that that aesthetics in some internal sense belongs together with ethics and philosophy. The investigation develops this theme from an exegetical point of view, but also with the view of assessing the applicability of Wittgenstein's thought to general metaphilosophical questions conc erning the status of philosophy as a discourse and discipline. This investigation is not only of interest for the interpretation of Wittgenstein's philosophy, but participates in a constructive way in current debates concerning aesthetics, ethics, and phi losophy in general. My point of departure is, of course, Wittgenstein's own work, but I will also refer to interpreters like H. Putnam, S. Cavell and especially C. Diamond, who are central in the North American reception of Wittgenstein and who have set t he agenda for much of this discussion. A stay as visiting scholar as the guest of prof. Alice Crary (the New School for Social Research) would be of great importance at this stage of my project. Prof. Crary is an internationally renown expert both in ethi cs and on Wittgenstein, in addition to being a specialist on (and former student of) both Cavell and Diamond. Her views on ethics, as expressed e.g. in Crary (2007a) are especially relevant for my project. Prof. Crary has expressed an interest in discussi ng my work, and also in having me give guest lectures presenting my research. I also plan to visit prof.s Juliet Floyd (Boston U.), Warren Goldfarb (Harvard) and James Conant (U. of Chicago) to present and discuss my work, so the research visit would als o give me an opportunity to present Norwegian Wittgenstein research to leading American scholars, and hopefully initiate further cooperation and exchange in this field among researchers in Norway and the USA.