Ludwig+Wittgenstein


 * __Introduction__**

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) is considered by some to be the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century, Ludwig Wittgenstein played a central, if not controversial, role in twentieth century analytic philosophy. He continues to influence current philosophical thought in topics diverse as logic and language, perception and intention, ethics and religion, aesthetics and culture.


 * __Upbringing__**

Although he suffered from depression, social anxiety, and isolation, Wittgenstein was a mathematical genius and philosopher who spent his life in and out of the most renonwned academic circles in Europe. Even though his contributions were sporadic, they gained him unprecedented prestige, which he shunned wholeheartedly. Wittgenstein grew up in one of the wealthiest families in Austria. He was home schooled until his teens, where he learned about music and even engineering. When he did go to college, he had a hard time coping and adjusting to people who did not have his privileged upbringing. In many ways, he longed to be more simple and pure. At Trininty College, he studied mathematical logic, which enthralled him. Following, he moved to Norway to live in a hut as a hermit.


 * __Theories__**

Philosophiccal Investigations is, along with the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, one of the two major works by Ludwig Wittgenstein. In it, Wittgenstein discusses numerous problems and puzzles in fields of logic and the philosophy of mind. He puts forth the view that conceptual confusions surrounding language use are at the root of most philosophical problems. His masterwork, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (1921), influenced logical positivism, arguing the strict relationships between language and the physical world. After 1929, he criticized this hypothesis, published posthumously via Philosophical Investigations(1953). He claimed language was a conventional ‘game’, where meaning was affected more by context than formal relationships to reality. The book is generally considered one of the most imperative philosophical works of the twentieth century.

Ludwig Wittgenstein before his death in 1951.