On Continuity: Rush Rhees on Outer and InnerSurfaces of Bodies

Abstract

This article presents an edited excerpt from a hitherto unknown fragmentary treatise by Rush Rhees. In the treatise, Rhees gives his account of the problem of continuity that he had started elaborating before he became acquainted with Wittgenstein. The excerpt, which contains Rhees' original distinction between outer and inner surfaces of bodies, builds on Brentano's theory of the continuum and his doctrine of plerosis. This treatment of continuity sheds light on Rhees' early philosophical development and confirms that even though he and Wittgenstein discussed the problem of continuity, Rhees' own approach remained distinct from that of Wittgenstein.