Product Description

The Philosophical Investigations of Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951) present his own distillation of two decades of intense work on the philosophies of mind, language and meaning.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218492 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
"enchanting and perceptive, Wall provides an unforgettable understanding of 'Irish Wittgenstein'. It is a discreet jewel." George Steiner, Observer (review of a previous edition).

From the Back Cover
Ludwig Wittgenstein′s Philosophical Investigations presents his own distillation of two decades of intense work on the philosophies of mind, language and meaning. When first published in 1953, it immediately entered the center of philosophical debate, and achieved a classic status it has retained ever since.

This revised German–English edition is published on the fiftieth anniversary of Wittgenstein′s death. It incorporates final revisions by G. E. M. Anscombe (1919–2001) to her original English translation.

No distribution rights for this book is available outside the USA and North America.

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly readable
How does a word have meaning in our minds? How does it have the same meaning in the minds of others? They're old and abstract questions, and Ludwig Wittgenstein is famous for his two books on them. Philosophical Investigations is the second of the books; it advocates meaning as a product of a language-game played between people; it reacts against meaning as a formally logical or mathematical attribute of a word. Language and language-games pervade our lives and our thinking - the book's scope is wide, and its classic status seems quite deserved. As a layman, the great surprise for me instead was its readability. Wittgenstein found himself, late in life, unable to write Philosophical Investigations as an essay, instead opting for a series of numbered points of a few paragraphs each. The quality of writing - at least Elizabeth Anscombe's English translation - is such that ideas get transmitted with wonderful succinctness, even while the arguments are subtly encircling a topic that resists direct assault. Combined with many visual metaphors, the effect is of a tremendously intellectual comic book, offering rewards for different readers diving to different philosophical depths.

This edition in particular, with facing pages of English and German translations of the same section, is steeped in scholarly and craftsmanlike care. It all enhanced the wonderfully bookish air of a tract on language and thought itself; and when I paused or concluded reading it brought not a frustrated confusion but instead a steady, baffled wonderment.

An unanswered challenge to analytic philosophy
In the philosophical Investigations Wittgenstein destroys the whole edifice of analytic philosophy.
For Wittgenstein, philosophical problems - as investigated by analytic philosophers - are brought into being by the analytic method itself. The problem, then, is to understand this point and to free oneself from the psuedo puzzles created by the method.
The fact that fifty years on we still await the first serious rebuttal to Wittgenstein's view ably demonstrates their potency and contemporary relevance.
Analytic philosophy should cease until the problems raised in this book are addressed.

Phenomens of thinking
I cannot say that I understood all, but I understood enough to value evidence of Ludwig thinking and writing notes about thoughts. One could use a life time trying to figure out what Ludwig meant by all this but I don't think that is necessary. I can take this book read some parts, maybe understand something new, put book back to shelf and come back any day later. I don't also think this book should be read from beginning to end. Opening any page can give thoughts. Something like aphorism collection. Perhaps when I die there will be Wittgenstein quote on my memorial writing. I would be pleased about that.