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Ludwig Wittgenstein
1889–1951· Philosopher· Knowledge, logic & science
Well documentedSolid records, texts or physical evidence.
Austrian-British philosopher who argued twice, in opposite ways, that philosophical problems come from misunderstanding how language works.
See it on the Philosophy map →The idea
Idea: most philosophical problems are confusions about language, to be dissolved rather than solved. Heir to a Vienna steel fortune, he studied with Russell at Cambridge from 1911, wrote the Tractatus as a soldier in World War I, then gave away his money and taught village school in Austria. Back at Cambridge from 1929, he rejected his early view: meaning is use, in 'language games' woven into ways of life (Philosophical Investigations, 1953). Main objection: critics say dissolving problems leaves real questions unanswered.
Why it matters
He shaped both phases of analytic philosophy, logical analysis and ordinary-language philosophy, and is often ranked the most influential philosopher of the 20th century.
Legacy and sources
The Tractatus was the only philosophy book published in his lifetime; the Investigations and about 20,000 pages of manuscripts were published after his death by his literary executors.
Still debated
How sharply the early and later Wittgenstein differ is debated; 'resolute' readers argue the Tractatus was meant to be seen as nonsense throughout.
Inside this (2)
Connections (4)
▸Gottlob Frege and modern logic influenced Ludwig WittgensteinWell documented
The connection
Wittgenstein, an engineering student gripped by the foundations of mathematics, visited Frege, who advised him to study with Russell at Cambridge. Frege's logic, and his principle that words have meaning only in the context of a sentence, shaped the Tractatus, whose preface credits 'Frege's great works'.
When and how
Wittgenstein visited Frege in Jena in 1911 and several times later; they corresponded until 1920.
How we know
The Tractatus preface credits Frege and Russell; surviving letters show Frege, sent the manuscript, said he could not make out its meaning.
Debates and open questions
Scholars debate whether Frege or Russell influenced the Tractatus more; recent scholarship often stresses Frege's larger role.
▸Bertrand Russell mentored Ludwig WittgensteinWell documented
The connection
Russell recognized genius in the young Wittgenstein, who came to Cambridge to study logic and soon challenged his teacher. Russell hoped he would carry on his logical work, and later wrote the introduction that got the Tractatus published. Wittgenstein felt Russell misunderstood the book, and the two drifted apart.
When and how
Cambridge, from October 1911; Russell helped publish the Tractatus in 1921–22, after Wittgenstein's release from an Italian prisoner-of-war camp.
How we know
Russell's letters to Lady Ottoline Morrell vividly record Wittgenstein's arrival and progress, and their own correspondence survives.
Debates and open questions
How far Wittgenstein's 1913 criticisms made Russell abandon his book on knowledge, as Russell later suggested, is debated.
▸Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote Tractatus Logico-PhilosophicusWell documented
The connection
Wittgenstein worked out the book in notebooks while serving in the Austro-Hungarian army in World War I, including at the front. He believed it had solved the problems of philosophy in principle, and after publishing it he left philosophy for years to teach in village schools.
When and how
Written 1914–18 and finished in summer 1918; he was captured in Italy in November 1918 with the manuscript in his rucksack. Published in German in 1921, English in 1922.
How we know
His surviving wartime notebooks (published 1961) show the drafts; letters to Russell from the prison camp discuss the manuscript.
Debates and open questions
He later admitted 'grave mistakes' in the book, and scholars debate what, if anything, he thought survived into his later philosophy.
▸Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote Philosophical Investigations and language gamesWell documented
The connection
After returning to Cambridge in 1929, Wittgenstein spent two decades reworking his ideas in lectures and notebooks. The Investigations, written as numbered remarks, gathered this later thinking: meaning as use, language games and family resemblance. He prepared Part I for publication but did not live to see it printed.
When and how
Written mainly in Cambridge, Norway and Ireland, about 1936–1949; published by Blackwell in 1953, two years after his death.
How we know
His manuscripts and typescripts survive and are now digitized; his students G. E. M. Anscombe and Rush Rhees edited the book with a facing English translation.
Debates and open questions
The so-called 'Part II' was assembled by the editors; since 2009 it is printed as a separate work, 'Philosophy of Psychology – A Fragment', since he may not have meant it to belong.