The Hinges of On Certainty

Some commentators argue that the notes collected as Wittgenstein's On Certainty provide the basis for a groundbreaking epistemological theory and response to scepticism. This theory pertains to the role of what some have called the hinge propositions of our inquiry, following Wittgenstein's metaphor of hinges of a door. This paper examines one influential reconstruction of Wittgenstein's treatment of hinge propositions, according to which such propositions structure our whole practice of inquiry and enable it to proceed. It raises a dilemma for this reading and, in light of it, considers three alternative reconstructions. Finding significant challenges for each of them, it disputes the above claim, concluding that On Certainty does not provide the basis for a groundbreaking epistemological theory and response to scepticism.