The Undiscovered Wittgenstein

Description

"Although Ludwig Wittgenstein is often described as the most important and interesting philosopher of the twentieth century, it is also said that our fascination with him is a function of our bewilderment over who he really was and what his work stands for. The aim of this work is to uncover and bring into focus, through a more careful reading of his works, the real Wittgenstein. Philosopher John W. Cook discusses Wittgenstein's neutral monism, conceptual relativism, and language-games (among other issues) and traces these ideas and especially Wittgenstein's vocabulary to their roots in his early writings and lectures, thereby providing a historical approach to his work that has been lacking in other commentaries. This approach removes much of the mystery that has surrounded Wittgenstein's philosophy. What emerges is a philosopher who was both more interesting and more resourceful than either his defenders or his critics have realized."--Jacket.

First Sentence

In their informative and justly appreciated notice, written for The Australasian Journal of Philosophy on the occasion of Ludwig Wittgenstein's death, D. A. T. Gasking and A. C. Jackson, both of whom had studied with Wittgenstein, tell us that he had a horror of slickness-of philosophical opinions arrived at by any process other than an honest wholehearted strenuous endeavor to find out the truth for oneself.

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