Changing Aspects in Learning and Teaching
Paul Standish

In his later work Wittgenstein introduces the example of the duck-rabbit: the drawing viewed from one aspect as a duck, from another as a rabbit. The picture is of obvious interest in relation to what seeing is and the switch that can be made in how one sees things. But Wittgenstein’s interest in changing aspects goes well beyond this novel example: it is a theme that recurs in different ways in his later work. With a worked example, my discussion explores the idea’s significance for learning and teaching, including the light it casts on language in relation to LLMs.

Paul Standish holds the Chair in Philosophy of Education at UCL Institute of Education. His recent publications include “Walden in Tokyo: Stanley Cavell and the Thought of Other Cultures”, a special issue, co-edited with Naoko Saito, of the Journal of Philosophy of Education (2025) and “Rather more on AI from the point of view of ordinary language philosophy” (Philosophical Investigations, 2025). A collection of his essays (trans. Sangeun Lee and Sojin Lee) received the award of Outstanding Book (2025) from the Korean Academy of Sciences. He is Co-Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Education and President of the PESGB.