Ludwig Wittgenstein has somehow captured the popular imagination as the modern Socrates, the master of enigmatic logic, the fascinating and
attractive icon of modernism. But what did Wittgenstein really say?
In Introducing Wittgenstein we meet a strange man, the rigorous logician who prized poetry above philosophy, who inherited an immense fortune and gave it all away, who sought death in the trenches of World War One, a great teacher who advised his students to give up philosophy, a tormented soul who thrived on jokes and crime fiction and a solitary who inspired lifelong friendships.
We are also given a clear and accessible guide to his central
works, the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, a glacier of logic, and his
later, friendlier Philosophical Investigations. Anyone intrigued by these
works but too daunted to have read them will find this the ideal
introduction to a great 20th century philosopher.
John M. Heaton is a psychotherapist and one-time colleague of R.D. Laing.
Judy Groves is a painter, graphic designer and illustrator. She has illustrated numerous Introducing titles.
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