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Ludwig Wittgenstein

Austrian philosopher and logician (1889-1951) · United Kingdom · Academics · Died at 62 · also Austria

Ludwig Wittgenstein is read about 3,696 times a day, in 129 languages.

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He published one slim book in his lifetime - 75 pages that tried to solve all philosophical problems - then spent the rest of his career dismantling it. The Tractatus and the Investigations stand as opposite poles of 20th-century thought, both written by the same man.

AcademicsAcademicMathematicsPhilosophyArchitectureUnited KingdomEurope20th Century

A life in dates

1996Wittgenstein-PrizeNamed after him, Austrian science award1977Culture and ValueBook published after his death, book by Ludwig Wittgenstein1969On CertaintyBook published after his death, essay by Ludwig Wittgenstein1967Remarks on Frazer's Golden BoughBook published after his death, Commentary written by Ludwig Wittgenstein in 19311958Blue and Brown BooksBook published after his death, book by Ludwig Wittgenstein1957Notes on LogicBook published after his death, essay by Ludwig Wittgenstein1953Philosophical InvestigationsBook published after his death, work by philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein1951Died29 April 19511919“It is necessary to be given the prop that all elementary props are given." This is not necessary because it is even impossible. There is no such prop!”In their wordsNotes of 1919, as quoted in Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius (1990) by Ray Monk

1917“I work quite diligently and wish that I were better and smarter. And these both are one and the same.”In their wordsIn a letter to Paul Engelmann (1917) as quoted in The Idea of Justice (2010) by Amartya Sen, p. 31

1915“It is one of the chief skills of the philosopher not to occupy himself with questions which do not concern him.”In their words1 May 1915Journal entry (1 May 1915)

“I cannot get from the nature of the proposition to the individual logical operations!!! That is, I cannot bring out how far the proposition is the picture of the situation.”In their words12 March 1915Journal entries (12 March 1915 and 15 March 1915) p. 41e

1914“Don't get involved in partial problems, but always take flight to where there is a free view over the whole single great problem, even if this view is still not a clear one.”In their words1 November 1914Journal entry (1 November 1914)

“Logic takes care of itself; all we have to do is to look and see how it does it.”In their words13 October 1914Journal entry (13 October 1914), also in Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (§ 5.47)

1889Born26 April 1889

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Wittgenstein21. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway (cropped)21. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway (cropped)21. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway21. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway22. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway22. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway23. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway23. Photographs showing Wittgenstein’s house in Norway26. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War26. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War27. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War (cropped)27. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War (cropped)27. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War27. Wittgenstein’s military identity card during the First World War

In their own words 10

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Ludwig Wittgenstein
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10 statements, newest first

  1. You won't - I really believe - get too much out of reading it. Because you won't understand it; the content will seem strange to you.

    1919, On his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, in a letter to Ludwig von Ficker (1919), published in Wittgenstein: Sources and Perspectives (1979), Own words

  2. It is necessary to be given the prop that all elementary props are given." This is not necessary because it is even impossible. There is no such prop!

    1919, Notes of 1919, as quoted in Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius (1990) by Ray Monk, Own words

  3. I work quite diligently and wish that I were better and smarter. And these both are one and the same.

    1917, In a letter to Paul Engelmann (1917) as quoted in The Idea of Justice (2010) by Amartya Sen, p. 31, Own words

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About this person

Born in 1889 into one of Europe's richest families in Vienna, Wittgenstein inherited a fortune in 1913 and immediately gave large sums to struggling artists including Rilke and Trakl - then, in 1916, donated a million crowns for a military mortar. Three of his four older brothers died by suicide. He served as a decorated officer on the front line in World War I, then gave away his remaining wealth in a period of severe depression and left academia to teach in remote Austrian villages, where he used violent corporal punishment on students during math classes and sparked controversy in incidents like the Haidbauer affair. From 1929 to 1947 he taught at Cambridge, though he left academia repeatedly to work as a hospital porter in London and a lab technician in Newcastle during World War II. His voluminous manuscripts were published after his death in 1951; the 1953 Philosophical Investigations was later ranked the most important philosophy book of the century, "the one crossover masterpiece" that appealed across all specializations.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Academics
Type
Academic
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1889 to 1951 · aged 62

Academics from the United Kingdom 6

Jane Goodall81.6Thomas Hobbes79.9Hannah Fry84.5John Stuart Mill79.3Alan Turing84.3David Hume78.1

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