Summary
This work, "Logik, Sprache, Philosophie," originally planned as a systematic exposition of Wittgenstein's thought, was developed through close personal collaboration between 1927 and 1935. A first version was completed by 1931. The book's central argument, as evidenced by its initial collaboration with Wittgenstein and its subsequent transformation into "Principles of Linguistic Philosophy," concerns the systematic philosophical ideas developed by Wittgenstein from the late 1920s. This involved making those ideas public and expounding them.
The book's development charts a significant intellectual project in analytic philosophy, directly tied to the philosophical evolution of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Readers learn about the direct influence of Moritz Schlick in tasking Waismann with this exposition and the close, personal engagement with Wittgenstein himself during its formative years. The project's evolution highlights the dynamic nature of philosophical inquiry and the challenges of articulating complex new thought systems.
Key concepts
- Wittgenstein's thought from the later 1920s — The specific philosophical ideas developed by Wittgenstein that Waismann aimed to systematically expound.
- Systematic exposition — The detailed and organized presentation of Wittgenstein's philosophical concepts.
- Close personal conjunction — The direct and collaborative work between Waismann and Wittgenstein on the project.
- Moritz Schlick's concern — Schlick's initiative to publicize Wittgenstein's revived philosophical ideas.
- Principles of Linguistic Philosophy — A later, significantly different version of the planned book.
From the book
Description: Friedrich Waismann was born in Vienna in 1896 and lived there until the time of the Anschluss in 1938. From then until his death in 1959 he lived in England; this, apart from a brief period at Cambridge early on, was almost wholly at Oxford, \,Vhere he held the posts, first, or reader in the philosophy of mathematics and then of reader in the philosophy of science. He was of Jewish descent -his father being Russian, his mother German. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Vienna and attended the lec tures of Hahn. Beginning his career as a teacher of mathematics he soon be came an unofficial assistant to Moritz Schlick. It was Schlick's concern to see that the new philosophical ideas developed by Wittgenstein from the time of his return to philosophy in…
Snippet: A first version of the planned book, Logik. Sprache. Philosophie seems to have been completed by 1931. A very differ ent version came to England with Waismann in 1938.