This book attempts to explicate and expand upon Frank Ramsey's notion of the realistic spirit. In so doing, it provides a systematic reading of his work, and demonstrates the extent of Ramsey's genius as evinced by both his responses to the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, and the impact he had on Wittgenstein's later philosophical insights.

Table Of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroductionPART I: THE REALISTIC SPIRIT1. The Realistic Spirit1.1. Realism And The Realistic1.2. Playing Not-Bridge1.2.1. Three Contrasts1.2.2. Playing And Contravention1.2.3. The Comfort Of Pretence1.2.4. Parsimony And Pretending2. Empiricism, Solipsism And The Realistic2.1. Empiricism And The Realistic2.1.1. Berkeley, Russell, And The Language Of God2.1.2. The Given2.2. Solipsism And The Realistic3. Pragmatism And The Realistic3.1. Probability3.1.1. Degrees Of Belief3.1.2. Peirce And Probability3.1.3. Rationality, Inquiry And Reasonableness3.2. Truth3.2.1. On Truth3.2.2. Truth And Inquiry3.3. Ramsey As PragmatistPART II: MEANING4. Ramsey And Wittgenstein: First Encounters4.1. Pictures4.1.1. Representation And Sense4.1.2. Pictorial And Logical Form4.2. Propositions4.2.1. Type And Token4.2.2. Truth And Meaning5. The Mystical5.1. Ramsey And The Mystical5.1.1. Internal Properties5.1.2. Making Clear5.2. Ramsey And Nonsense5.2.1. Existential Statements5.2.2. Identity Statements5.2.3. Logical And Semantic Properties5.2.4. Mathematical Statements5.2.5. Ramsey And Semantics6. Truth And Meaning6.1. Facts And Judgement6.2. Judgement6.2.1. Chicken Beliefs6.2.2. Beliefs, Private States And Representation6.3. Belief And Representation6.3.1. Names, Objects And Antirealism6.3.2. Mental Signs6.3.3. Belief And Causation6.3.4. Belief, Language And Forms Of Life6.4. Objections6.4.1. Judging Nonsense6.4.2. What Is Squiggle?6.4.3. Realism And The RealisticPART III: MATHEMATICS7. The Foundation Of Mathematics7.1. Tractarian Logicism7.2. Identity In The Tractatus7.2.1. Wittgenstein On Identity7.2.2. The Tractarian Convention7.3. Ramsey's Definition Of '='7.3.1. The Problem Of Essential Classes7.3.2. Identity In Principia7.3.3. Propositional Functions In Extension7.3.4. What Could A PFE Be?8. Logical Revolt8.1. Ramsey And Hilbert8.1.1. Generalisation8.1.2. The ¿-Operator8.2. The Entscheidungsproblem8.2.1. Decidability And The Logic Of The TractatusPART IV: INFLUENCE9. Generality, Rules And Normativity9.1. Generality9.1.1. Quantification In The Tractatus9.1.2. Ramseys' Criticisms9.1.3. Ramsey And The Infinite9.1.4. Wittgenstein And The Infinite9.2. Rules And Normativity9.2.1. Philosophical Investigations
819.2.1. Rules And Games9.2.3. NormativityReferences