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Project:About Wittgenstein: Difference between revisions
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Go to [[Review of P. Coffey, “The Science of Logic”|Review of P. Coffey, ''The science of logic'']]}} | Go to [[Review of P. Coffey, “The Science of Logic”|Review of P. Coffey, ''The science of logic'']]}} | ||
{{Drawer|number=2 | <!--{{Drawer|number=2 | ||
|title=Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus | |title=Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus | ||
|content= “Don’t worry, I know you’ll never understand it”: with these words about the ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'', Wittgenstein addressed Russell and Moore during the assessment meeting to obtain a Ph.D. at Cambridge, where Wittgenstein presented the book as his thesis. And indeed, since its appearance, the book aroused continuous and strong interest because of its enigmatic appeal no less than its undisputed brilliance. The work for which Wittgenstein is best known, the ''Tractatus'' is the only one published by the author during his lifetime. In spite of its size (75 pages in the first English edition), the book represents one of the greatest masterpieces of 20th century philosophy: in the 525 propositions arranged in a progressive numbering system, in which seven main propositions incorporate a variable number of commentary propositions hierarchically organised, Wittgenstein summarises his early philosophy, establishing a relationship between the themes of logic and language, newly developed by logicism between the 19th and 20th centuries, and the traditional spiritual problems of ethics and value, which lie at the intersection of philosophy and religion. | |content=-->“Don’t worry, I know you’ll never understand it”: with these words about the ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'', Wittgenstein addressed Russell and Moore during the assessment meeting to obtain a Ph.D. at Cambridge, where Wittgenstein presented the book as his thesis. And indeed, since its appearance, the book aroused continuous and strong interest because of its enigmatic appeal no less than its undisputed brilliance. The work for which Wittgenstein is best known, the ''Tractatus'' is the only one published by the author during his lifetime. In spite of its size (75 pages in the first English edition), the book represents one of the greatest masterpieces of 20th century philosophy: in the 525 propositions arranged in a progressive numbering system, in which seven main propositions incorporate a variable number of commentary propositions hierarchically organised, Wittgenstein summarises his early philosophy, establishing a relationship between the themes of logic and language, newly developed by logicism between the 19th and 20th centuries, and the traditional spiritual problems of ethics and value, which lie at the intersection of philosophy and religion. | ||
The genesis of the tractarian ideas can be attributed to the unique blend of influences absorbed by the author during the early phase of his intellectual production. Well before engaging with academic philosophy, Wittgenstein assimilated the contributions of, among others, Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, Hertz, polemical literature, and Jewish thought, which were prevalent in the intellectual discourse of fin de siècle Vienna. This culturally vibrant environment was deeply committed to envisioning a reform of communicative, ethical, and aesthetic codes that would provide the proper space for existential reflections. Upon his exposure to the philosophies of Frege and Russell, Wittgenstein adopted the conviction that symbolism, serving as a unifying instrument, could integrate his understanding of the interplay between language and the world with the belief that essential problems could not be subject to intellectual discourse. | The genesis of the tractarian ideas can be attributed to the unique blend of influences absorbed by the author during the early phase of his intellectual production. Well before engaging with academic philosophy, Wittgenstein assimilated the contributions of, among others, Schopenhauer, Tolstoy, Hertz, polemical literature, and Jewish thought, which were prevalent in the intellectual discourse of fin de siècle Vienna. This culturally vibrant environment was deeply committed to envisioning a reform of communicative, ethical, and aesthetic codes that would provide the proper space for existential reflections. Upon his exposure to the philosophies of Frege and Russell, Wittgenstein adopted the conviction that symbolism, serving as a unifying instrument, could integrate his understanding of the interplay between language and the world with the belief that essential problems could not be subject to intellectual discourse. | ||
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Go to [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(English)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus]]<br/> | Go to [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(English)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus]]<br/> | ||
In the only footnote of the book, Wittgenstein himself provided instructions for understanding the numerical hierarchy underlying the lines of reasoning presented in the ''Tractatus''. Each of the main propositions is accompanied by sequentially numbered comment propositions with a single decimal place; in turn, these incorporate comment propositions with two decimal places, and so on. Nowadays, thanks to modern computer techniques, many digital tools have multiplied to reproduce the tree-like structure at the base of the book in the form of a diagram (as in the case of the [http://tractatus.lib.uiowa.edu/ University of Iowa ''Tractatus'' map]) or through collapsible "drawers" that allow hiding or showing the commentary subpropositions. The Ludwig Wittgenstein Project has developed its own version of the tree-like view of the ''Tractatus'' to offer users a reading experience as closely aligned as possible with Wittgenstein's indications. Go to [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(tree-like_view)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (tree-like view)]]<br/> | In the only footnote of the book, Wittgenstein himself provided instructions for understanding the numerical hierarchy underlying the lines of reasoning presented in the ''Tractatus''. Each of the main propositions is accompanied by sequentially numbered comment propositions with a single decimal place; in turn, these incorporate comment propositions with two decimal places, and so on. Nowadays, thanks to modern computer techniques, many digital tools have multiplied to reproduce the tree-like structure at the base of the book in the form of a diagram (as in the case of the [http://tractatus.lib.uiowa.edu/ University of Iowa ''Tractatus'' map]) or through collapsible "drawers" that allow hiding or showing the commentary subpropositions. The Ludwig Wittgenstein Project has developed its own version of the tree-like view of the ''Tractatus'' to offer users a reading experience as closely aligned as possible with Wittgenstein's indications. Go to [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(tree-like_view)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (tree-like view)]]<br/> | ||
Furthermore, with the aim of facilitating the comparison between original editions and translations of the work, we have developed a multilingual interface that allows side-by-side display of the original texts and the translations which are currently available on the website. Go to the [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(multilingual_side-by-side_view)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (side-by-side view)]]}} | Furthermore, with the aim of facilitating the comparison between original editions and translations of the work, we have developed a multilingual interface that allows side-by-side display of the original texts and the translations which are currently available on the website. Go to the [[Tractatus_Logico-Philosophicus_(multilingual_side-by-side_view)|Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (side-by-side view)]]<!--}}--> | ||
{{Drawer|number=3 | {{Drawer|number=3 | ||
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Go to "[[Bemerkungen über Frazers “The Golden Bough”|Bemerkungen über Frazers ''The Golden Bough'']]"}} | Go to "[[Bemerkungen über Frazers “The Golden Bough”|Bemerkungen über Frazers ''The Golden Bough'']]"}} | ||
{{Drawer|number=4 | <!--{{Drawer|number=4 | ||
|title=Philosophical Investigations | |title=Philosophical Investigations | ||
|content= "Philosophical Investigations" is the title that Wittgenstein, starting from the mid-1930s, began to attribute to a collection of German-written manuscripts, often converted into typescripts, which he submitted many times to extensive and compulsive revisions, in an attempt to shape a second book of philosophy that never saw the light of day during the author's lifetime: it was only in 1953 that Wittgenstein's literary executors posthumously published the text with an English translation, in a form that has not failed to provoke criticism due to the inclusion of a so-called “Part II” of the work. The contents of this section were apparently derived from materials collected by Wittgenstein during his last period of teaching in Cambridge between 1947 and 1949. Those materials were later selected by the philosopher himself and typed out. While Wittgenstein's literary executors claimed that it was his intention to incorporate these contents into the final version of the work, there is no irrefutable confirmation of this. Additionally, the themes discussed in "Part II" are undeniably more aligned with the work Wittgenstein carried out on the philosophy of psychology during those years of teaching. For these reasons, on our website, we exclusively reproduce what is known as the "Part I" of the work. This follows the suggestion of Joachim Schulte, the editor of the [https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/ludwig-wittgenstein-philosophische-untersuchungen-t-9783518223727 German edition of the ''Philosophical Investigations''], who also observes that the integration proposed by the literary executors, while undoubtedly welcomed at the time of publication as it allowed readers of the ''Investigations'' to become acquainted with Wittgenstein's reflections that had otherwise been kept hidden for many years, is now superfluous, because many of the contents of “Part II” were channeled by Wittgenstein into the ''Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology''. | |content=-->"Philosophical Investigations" is the title that Wittgenstein, starting from the mid-1930s, began to attribute to a collection of German-written manuscripts, often converted into typescripts, which he submitted many times to extensive and compulsive revisions, in an attempt to shape a second book of philosophy that never saw the light of day during the author's lifetime: it was only in 1953 that Wittgenstein's literary executors posthumously published the text with an English translation, in a form that has not failed to provoke criticism due to the inclusion of a so-called “Part II” of the work. The contents of this section were apparently derived from materials collected by Wittgenstein during his last period of teaching in Cambridge between 1947 and 1949. Those materials were later selected by the philosopher himself and typed out. While Wittgenstein's literary executors claimed that it was his intention to incorporate these contents into the final version of the work, there is no irrefutable confirmation of this. Additionally, the themes discussed in "Part II" are undeniably more aligned with the work Wittgenstein carried out on the philosophy of psychology during those years of teaching. For these reasons, on our website, we exclusively reproduce what is known as the "Part I" of the work. This follows the suggestion of Joachim Schulte, the editor of the [https://www.suhrkamp.de/buch/ludwig-wittgenstein-philosophische-untersuchungen-t-9783518223727 German edition of the ''Philosophical Investigations''], who also observes that the integration proposed by the literary executors, while undoubtedly welcomed at the time of publication as it allowed readers of the ''Investigations'' to become acquainted with Wittgenstein's reflections that had otherwise been kept hidden for many years, is now superfluous, because many of the contents of “Part II” were channeled by Wittgenstein into the ''Remarks on the Philosophy of Psychology''. | ||
Although the final version of the first part of the work was only composed between 1943 and 1945, with some marginal rehashes thereafter, it would be flawed to argue that the ''Investigations'' reflect Wittgenstein's thought limited to the late 1940s. As he writes in the Preface, the ideas contained in the book are “the precipitate of philosophical investigations which have occupied me for the last sixteen years”. Therefore, the ''Philosophical Investigations'' can be considered a synthesis of Wittgenstein's mature thought, following his return to philosophy in 1929. Once again, the result of years of gestation was a complex work, devoid of a hierarchical structure and a definitive status unlike the ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'', but equally rich and surprising. | Although the final version of the first part of the work was only composed between 1943 and 1945, with some marginal rehashes thereafter, it would be flawed to argue that the ''Investigations'' reflect Wittgenstein's thought limited to the late 1940s. As he writes in the Preface, the ideas contained in the book are “the precipitate of philosophical investigations which have occupied me for the last sixteen years”. Therefore, the ''Philosophical Investigations'' can be considered a synthesis of Wittgenstein's mature thought, following his return to philosophy in 1929. Once again, the result of years of gestation was a complex work, devoid of a hierarchical structure and a definitive status unlike the ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'', but equally rich and surprising. | ||
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Go to [[Philosophische Untersuchungen|Philosophical Investigations]]}} | Go to [[Philosophische Untersuchungen|Philosophical Investigations]]<!--}}--> | ||
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