Philosophy is not a theory, asserted Austro-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), but an activity. In this 1921 opus, his only philosophical work published during his lifetime, Wittgenstein defined the object of philosophy as the logical clarification of thoughts and proposed the solution to most philosophic problems by means of a critical method of linguistic analysis. In proclaiming philosophy as a matter of logic rather than of metaphysics, Wittgenstein created a sensation among intellectual circles that influenced the development of logical positivism and changed the direction of 20th-century thought.
Beginning with the principles of symbolism and the necessary relations between words and objects, the author applies his theories to various branches of traditional philosophy, illustrating how mistakes arise from inappropriate use of symbolism and misuses of language. After examining the logical structure of propositions and the nature of logical inference, he discusses the theory of knowledge as well as principles of physics and ethics and aspects of the mystical.
Supervised by the author himself, this translation from the German by C. K. Ogden is regarded as the definitive text. A magisterial introduction by the distinguished philosopher Bertrand Russell hails Wittgenstein's achievement as extraordinarily important, one which no serious philosopher can afford to neglect. Introduction by Bertrand Russell.
Written over the last 18 months of his life and inspired by his interest in G. E. Moore's defense of common sense, this much discussed volume collects Wittgenstein's reflections on knowledge and certainty, on what it is to know a proposition for sure.
The finest introduction to the greatest philosopher of the 20th century (New York Times Book Review), including the complete text of the Tractatus, The Blue and Brown Books, and On Certainty
Major Works is the first single-volume English anthology of Ludwig Wittgenstein's important philosophical writings. Featuring the complete texts of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, The Blue and Brown Books: Studies for 'Philosophical Investigations, ' and On Certainty, this new collection selects from the early, middle, and later career of this revolutionary thinker, widely recognized as one of the most profound minds of all time. Wittgenstein contributed several groundbreaking ideas to philosophy, primarily in the foundations of logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, and the philosophy of mind.
The greatest philosopher of the 20th] century . . . Wittgenstein had an impact of extraordinary proportions. -- Colin McGinn, The New Republic
New editions of the Commentary on Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations from Wiley-Blackwell
Wittgenstein: Understanding and Meaning,
Volume 1 of An Analytical Commentary
on the Philosophical Investigations
Part I: Essays
G. P. Baker and P. M. S. Hacker
Second, extensively revised edition by P. M. S. Hacker
Wittgenstein: Understanding and Meaning,
Volume 1 of An Analytical Commentary
on the Philosophical Investigations
Part II: Exegesis 1-184
G. P. Baker and P. M. S. Hacker
Second, extensively revised edition by P. M. S. Hacker
Wittgenstein: Rules, Grammar and Necessity,
Volume 2 of An Analytical Commentary
on the Philosophical Investigations
Essays and Exegesis of 185-242
G. P. Baker and P. M. S. Hacker
Second, extensively revised edition by P. M. S. Hacker
Immediately upon its posthumous publication in 1953, Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations was hailed as a masterpiece, and the ensuing years have confirmed this initial assessment. Today it is widely acknowledged to be the single most important philosophical work of the twentieth century.
In this definitive new en face German-English edition, Wittgenstein experts Peter Hacker and Joachim Schulte have incorporated significant editorial changes to earlier editions of Philosophical Investigations in order to reflect more closely Wittgenstein's original intentions. Notable revisions include the placement of Wittgenstein's notes - Randbemerkungen - into their designated positions in the text, some corrections to the originally published German text, and the numbering of all the remarks in what was called Part 2 and is now named Philosophy of Psychology - A Fragment. Extensive modifications and corrections have also been made to G. E. M. Anscombe's original English translation. Detailed editorial endnotes have been added to illuminate difficult translation decisions and to identify references and allusions in Wittgenstein's original text.
Consisting of 525 hierarchically numbered statements, each one self-evident, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is imbued, as translator Damion Searls writes, with the kind of cryptic grandeur and awe-inspiring opacity we might expect--might want--from such an iconic philosopher. Yet earlier translations, in their efforts to excessively copy German phrasing and syntax, range from stilted, even redolently Victorian, to downright impenetrable.
With this new translation and insightful introduction on the language of the book, Searls finally does justice to Wittgenstein's masterpiece, capturing the fluid and forceful prose of the original without sacrificing any of its philosophical rigor. Indeed, in freeing the translation from the grip of the German language--revisiting, especially, the nouns and impersonal verbs that don't convey in English the precision and intensity of the German--Searls renders Wittgenstein's philosophy clearer and more accessible than ever before.
Featuring a preface by eminent Wittgenstein scholar Marjorie Perloff, this bilingual, facing-page edition promises to become the standard for generations to come.
These works, as the sub-title makes clear, are unfinished sketches for Philosophical Investigations, possibly the most important and influential philosophical work of modern times. The 'Blue Book' is a set of notes dictated to Witgenstein's Cambridge students in 1933-1934: the 'Brown Book' was a draft for what eventually became the growth of the first part of Philosophical Investigations. This book reveals the germination and growth of the ideas which found their final expression in Witgenstein's later work. It is indispensable therefore to students of Witgenstein's thought and to all those who wish to study at first-hand the mental processes of a thinker who fundamentally changed the course of modern philosophy.
Wittgenstein's dictionary for children: a rare and intriguing addition to the philosopher's corpus, in English for the first time
I had never thought the dictionaries would be so frightfully expensive. I think, if I live long enough, I will produce a small dictionary for elementary schools. It appears to me to be an urgent need. -Ludwig Wittgenstein
In 1925, Ludwig Wittgenstein, arguably one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century, wrote a dictionary for elementary school children. His W rterbuch f r Volksschulen (Dictionary for Elementary Schools) was designed to meet what he considered an urgent need: to help his students learn to spell. Wittgenstein began teaching kids in rural Austria in 1920 after abandoning his life and work at Cambridge University. During this time there were only two dictionaries available. But one was too expensive for his students, and the other was too small and badly put together. So Wittgenstein decided to write one. Word Book is the first-ever English translation of W rterbuch. This publication aims to encourage and reinvigorate interest in one of the greatest modern philosophers by introducing this gem of a work to a wider audience. Word Book also explores how W rterbuch portends Wittgenstein's radical reinvention of his own philosophy and the enduring influence his thinking holds over how art, culture and language are understood. Word Book is translated by writer and art historian Bettina Funcke, with a critical introduction by scholar D sir e Weber, and accompanied with art by Paul Chan. Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an Austrian-born British philosopher, regarded by many as the greatest philosopher of the 20th century. He played a decisive if controversial role in 20th-century analytic philosophy, and his work continues to influence fields as diverse as logic and language, perception and intention, ethics and religion, aesthetics and culture.Consisting of 525 hierarchically numbered statements, each one self-evident, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is imbued, as translator Damion Searls writes, with the kind of cryptic grandeur and awe-inspiring opacity we might expect--might want--from such an iconic philosopher. Yet earlier translations, in their efforts to excessively copy German phrasing and syntax, range from stilted, even redolently Victorian, to downright impenetrable.
With this new translation and insightful introduction on the language of the book, Searls finally does justice to Wittgenstein's masterpiece, capturing the fluid and forceful prose of the original without sacrificing any of its philosophical rigor. Indeed, in freeing the translation from the grip of the German language--revisiting, especially, the nouns and impersonal verbs that don't convey in English the precision and intensity of the German--Searls renders Wittgenstein's philosophy clearer and more accessible than ever before.
Featuring a preface by eminent Wittgenstein scholar Marjorie Perloff, this bilingual, facing-page edition promises to become the standard for generations to come.
The most complete edition yet published of Wittgenstein's 1929 lecture includes a never-before published first draft and makes fresh claims for its significance in Wittgenstein's oeuvre.
The Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus first appeared in 1921 and was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) published during his lifetime. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme compression and brilliance, it immediately convinced many of its readers and captured the imagination of all.
Its chief influence, at first, was on the Logical Positivists of the 1920s and 1930s, but many other philosophers were stimulated by its philosophy of language, finding attractive, even if ultimately unsatisfactory, its view that propositions were pictures of reality. Perhaps most of all, its own author, after his return to philosophy in the late 1920s, was fascinated by its vision of an inexpressible, crystalline world of logical relationships.
C.K. Ogden's translation of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus has a unique provenance. As revealed in Letters of C.K. Ogden (1973) and in correspondence in The Times Literary Supplement, Wittgenstein, Ramsey and Moore all worked with Ogden on the translation, which had Wittgenstein's complete approval.
Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his lifetime. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme brilliance, it captured the imagination of a generation of philosophers. For Wittgenstein, logic was something we use to conquer a reality which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable. He famously summarized the book in the following words: 'What can be said at all can be said clearly; and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.' David Pears and Brian McGuinness received the highest praise for their meticulous translation. The work is prefaced by Bertrand Russell's original introduction to the first English edition.
Wittgenstein's diary from the 1930s contains the raw material for what could have been an incomparable spiritual autobiography. For the first time in an affordable edition, the volume includes updated and expanded editorial notes on Wittgenstein's many allusions, and an introduction by Ray Monk on the larger arc of Wittgenstein's life and work.