Abstract

This chapter explores Wittgenstein’s contrast between attitudes and opinions in characterizing my relation toward the other as ensouled. I begin with what I call a privileging reading, which accords to the notion of attitude a kind of depth in relation to opinions. On this reading, the attitude Wittgenstein gestures toward provides the backdrop for the kinds of opinions that make sense in my relation to the other. Read with only a slight shift of emphasis, Wittgenstein’s remark allows for a similar sounding, but ultimately quite different, reading, which is exemplified in Daniel Dennett’s notion of the intentional stance. The different ways of construing Wittgenstein’s contrast make a difference in terms of how we understand Wittgenstein’s thought in relation to—and as having some bearing upon—scientific naturalism.