Ludwig Wittgenstein

:For other people of this name, see Wittgenstein (disambiguation)

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Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ({{IPA2|'luːtvɪç 'joːzɛf 'joːhan 'vɪtgənʃtaɪn}}) (April 26, 1889 – April 29, 1951) was an Austrian philosopher who contributed several ground-breaking works to modern philosophy, primarily on the foundations of logic and the philosophy of language. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist

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April 26 - 1889 - April 29 - 1951 - Austria - Philosopher - Logic - Philosophy of language

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Although numerous collections from Wittgenstein's notebooks, papers, and lectures have been published since his death, he published only one philosophical book in his own lifetime — the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus in 1921. Wittgenstein's early work was deeply influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer, and by the new systems of logic put forward by Bertrand Russell and Gottlob Frege. When the Tractatus was published, it was taken up as a major influence by the Vienna Circle positivists. However, Wittgenstein did not consider himself part of that school and alleged that logical positivism involved grave misunderstandings of the Tractatus.

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Philosophical - Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - 1921 - Arthur Schopenhauer - Logic - Bertrand Russell - Gottlob Frege - Vienna Circle - Logical positivism

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With the completion of the Tractatus, Wittgenstein believed he had solved all the problems of philosophy, and he abandoned his studies, working as a schoolteacher, a gardener at a monastery, and an architect, along with Paul Engelmann, on his sister's new house in Vienna. However, in 1929, he returned to Cambridge, was awarded a Ph.D. for the Tractatus, and took a teaching position there. He renounced or revised much of his earlier work, and his development of a new philosophical method and a new understanding of language culminated in his second magnum opus, the Philosophical Investigations, which was published posthumously.

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Vienna - 1929 - Cambridge - Magnum opus - Philosophical Investigations

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Both his early and later work have been major influences in the development of analytic philosophy, especially in the philosophy of language and the philosophy of mind. Former students and colleagues who carried on Wittgenstein's methods include Gilbert Ryle, Friedrich Waismann, Norman Malcolm, G. E. M. Anscombe, Rush Rhees, Georg Henrik von Wright, and Peter Geach. Contemporary philosophers heavily influenced by him include James Conant, Michael Dummett, Peter Hacker, Stanley Cavell, and Saul Kripke.

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Analytic philosophy - Philosophy of mind - Gilbert Ryle - Friedrich Waismann - Norman Malcolm - G. E. M. Anscombe - Georg Henrik von Wright - Peter Geach - Michael Dummett - Stanley Cavell - Saul Kripke

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